Which to use
“défis” is a noun and “dévie” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,971
- “défis” frequency rank
- #35,008
- “dévie” frequency rank
- 40979
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défis | dévie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défi. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de dévier. |
Where the eye mixes défis and dévie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. défis (CVCVC) and dévie (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between défis and dévie
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défis is \de.fi\ while dévie is \de.vi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40979, 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\. dévie is at rank #35,008, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vi\.
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 40979, this pair ranks #236,497 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défis vs dévie
Shared letters: dié. Private to "défis": fs. Private to "dévie": ev.
"défis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "dévie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défis" and "dévie" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "défis" or "dévie"?
After this comparison
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 "dévie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #236,497 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défis" and "dévie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dèche vs dévie". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #236,497 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.