défi vs degli, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“défi” is a noun and “degli” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,454
“défi” frequency rank: #42,274
“degli” frequency rank: 45728
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	défi	degli
Definition	Action de défier.	Article contracté souvent traduit par des. Note d’usage : il s’emploie alternativement à dei devant les consonnes impures : s, gn, pn, ps, x, z.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set défi and degli apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

défi

5 ch

degli

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défi is \de.fi\ while degli is \ˈdeʎ.ʎi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défi is recorded at frequency rank #3,454, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fi\. degli is at rank #42,274, tagged as anarticle, pronounced \ˈdeʎ.ʎi\.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 45728, this pair ranks #200,479 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of défi vs degli

Shared letters: di. Private to "défi": fé. Private to "degli": egl.

"défi" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "degli" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

degli ← ddegli · deggli · degil · deglli · delgi · dgeli · edgli

Frequency comparison

défi#3,454

degli#42,274

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "défi" and "degli" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "défi" is a noun and "degli" an article, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "défi" or "degli"?

"défi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,454 in our French list, against #42,274 for "degli". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering défi vs degli

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “défi”; for an article, it's “degli”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “défi” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable