Which to use
“défis” and “délais” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,971
- “défis” frequency rank
- #5,551
- “délais” frequency rank
- 11522
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défis | délais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défi. | Pluriel de délai. |
Where the eye mixes défis and délais
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. défis runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against délais's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: défis vs délais
A purely visual mix-up. défis (\de.fi\) and délais (\de.lɛ\) 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 11522, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défis is recorded at frequency rank #5,971, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fi\. délais is at rank #5,551, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.lɛ\.
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 11522, this pair ranks #408,839 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défis vs délais
Shared letters: disé. Private to "défis": f. Private to "délais": al.
"défis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "délais" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défis" and "délais" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "défis" vs "délais" - 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 "défis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délais" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #408,839 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défis" and "délais" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défis vs denim". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #408,839 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.