défilésvsdéliresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“défilés” and “délires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,266
“défilés” frequency rank
#13,161
“délires” frequency rank
32427
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défilés délires
Definition Pluriel de défilé. Pluriel de délire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set défilés and délires apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
défilés
7 ch
délires

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. défilés (\de.fi.le\) and délires (\de.liʁ\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défilés is recorded at frequency rank #19,266, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fi.le\. délires is at rank #13,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.liʁ\.

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 32427, this pair ranks #297,363 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of défilés vs délires

Shared letters: dilsé. Private to "défilés": f. Private to "délires": er.

"défilés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "délires" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

défilés#19,266
délires#13,161

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "défilés" and "délires" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.fi.le\ versus \de.liʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "défilés" or "délires"?
"délires" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,161 in our French list, against #19,266 for "défilés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering défilés vs délires

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “défilés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list