Which to use
“défilé” is a noun and “défoule” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,498
- “défilé” frequency rank
- #42,842
- “défoule” frequency rank
- 49340
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défilé | défoule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Passage étroit où il ne peut passer que peu de personnes de front. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défouler. |
Where the eye mixes défilé and défoule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. défilé runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against défoule's 7 (CVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between défilé and défoule
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défilé is \de.fi.le\ while défoule is \de.ful\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défilé is recorded at frequency rank #6,498, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fi.le\. défoule is at rank #42,842, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ful\.
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 49340, this pair ranks #171,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défilé vs défoule
Shared letters: dflé. Private to "défilé": i. Private to "défoule": eou.
"défilé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "défoule" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défilé" for "défoule" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défilé" or "défoule" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "défilé" and "défoule" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défilé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défoule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #171,505 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défilé" and "défoule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défoule vs déroula". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #171,505 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.