Which to use
“défiler” and “dévoiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,365
- “défiler” frequency rank
- #9,160
- “dévoiler” frequency rank
- 21525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défiler | dévoiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Détacher une chose du fil du cordon où elle était passée. | Découvrir ce qui était couvert d’un voile. |
Where the eye mixes défiler and dévoiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défiler runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against dévoiler's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses défiler with dévoiler
A purely visual mix-up. défiler (\de.fi.le\) and dévoiler (\de.vwa.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21525, 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\. dévoiler is at rank #9,160, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vwa.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 21525, this pair ranks #362,722 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défiler vs dévoiler
Shared letters: deilré. Private to "défiler": f. Private to "dévoiler": ov.
"défiler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dévoiler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défiler" and "dévoiler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défiler" or "dévoiler" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défiler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévoiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #362,722 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défiler" and "dévoiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défiler vs délier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #362,722 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.