Which to use
“défoncer” and “devancer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,145
- “défoncer” frequency rank
- #29,310
- “devancer” frequency rank
- 41455
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défoncer | devancer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dégarnir de son fond. | Précéder quelqu’un en gagnant le devant, arriver avant lui. |
Where the eye mixes défoncer and devancer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: défoncer vs devancer
A purely visual mix-up. défoncer (\de.fɔ̃.se\) and devancer (\də.vɑ̃.se\) 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 41455, 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\. devancer is at rank #29,310, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.vɑ̃.se\.
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 41455, this pair ranks #232,973 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défoncer vs devancer
Shared letters: cdenr. Private to "défoncer": foé. Private to "devancer": av.
"défoncer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "devancer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- devancer ← ddevancer · deavncer · devacner · devanccer · devancerr · devancre · devanecr · devanncer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défoncer" for "devancer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "défoncer" vs "devancer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "devancer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #232,973 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défoncer" and "devancer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "devancer vs déviance". 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 #232,973 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.