Which to use
“défiler” and “démêler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,365
- “défiler” frequency rank
- #26,702
- “démêler” frequency rank
- 39067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défiler | démêler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Détacher une chose du fil du cordon où elle était passée. | Séparer une chose d’autres choses avec lesquelles elle est mêlée. |
Where the eye mixes défiler and démêler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. défiler and démêler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between défiler and démêler
A purely visual mix-up. défiler (\de.fi.le\) and démêler (\de.me.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défiler is recorded at frequency rank #12,365, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fi.le\. démêler is at rank #26,702, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.me.le\.
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 39067, this pair ranks #250,752 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défiler vs démêler
Shared letters: delré. Private to "défiler": fi. Private to "démêler": mê.
"défiler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "démêler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défiler" and "démêler" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "défiler" vs "démêler" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défiler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démêler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #250,752 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défiler" and "démêler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs démêler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #250,752 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.