définivsdevinWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: défini is a adjective, devin is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“défini” is an adjective and “devin” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,750
“défini” frequency rank
#20,977
“devin” frequency rank
26727
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défini devin
Definition Qui est caractérisé avec précision. Homme qui prétend prédire les évènements qui arriveront et découvrir les choses cachées.

Where the eye mixes défini and devin

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. défini runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against devin's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
défini
5 ch
devin

Visual trap between défini and devin

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défini is \de.fi.ni\ while devin is \də.vɛ̃\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26727, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défini is recorded at frequency rank #5,750, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.fi.ni\. devin is at rank #20,977, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.vɛ̃\.

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 26727, this pair ranks #333,195 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of défini vs devin

Shared letters: din. Private to "défini": fé. Private to "devin": ev.

"défini" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "devin" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • devin ← ddevin · deivn · devinn · devni · devvin · dvein · edvin

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "défini" and "devin" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "défini" is an adjective and "devin" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "défini" or "devin"?
"défini" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,750 in our French list, against #20,977 for "devin". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "défini" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "devin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #333,195 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "défini" and "devin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "denim vs devin". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #333,195 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list