Which to use
“défoncer” and “démonter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,145
- “défoncer” frequency rank
- #13,365
- “démonter” frequency rank
- 25510
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défoncer | démonter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dégarnir de son fond. | Arrêter le mouvement d’un mécanisme, qui a ensuite besoin d’être remonté. |
Where the eye mixes défoncer and démonter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défoncer and démonter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: défoncer vs démonter
A purely visual mix-up. défoncer (\de.fɔ̃.se\) and démonter (\de.mɔ̃.te\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25510, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défoncer is recorded at frequency rank #12,145, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɔ̃.se\. démonter is at rank #13,365, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.mɔ̃.te\.
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 25510, this pair ranks #340,450 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défoncer vs démonter
Shared letters: denoré. Private to "défoncer": cf. Private to "démonter": mt.
"défoncer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "démonter" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défoncer" for "démonter" ever safe?
Frequency check: "défoncer" vs "démonter" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défoncer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démonter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #340,450 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défoncer" and "démonter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "démonter vs dérouter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #340,450 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.