dégât vs dégâts, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dégât” and “dégâts” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,555
“dégât” frequency rank: #4,228
“dégâts” frequency rank: 28783
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dégât	dégâts
Definition	Dommage, détérioration amenés par un accident ou une cause violente.	Pluriel de dégât.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dégât and dégâts apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

dégât

6 ch

dégâts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. dégât and dégâts are pronounced identically (\de.ɡa\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dégât” sits inside “dégâts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28783, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dégât is recorded at frequency rank #24,555, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ɡa\. dégâts is at rank #4,228, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ɡa\.

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 28783, this pair ranks #320,737 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dégât vs dégâts

Shared letters: dgtâé. Private to "dégât": -. Private to "dégâts": s.

"dégât" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "dégâts" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Frequency comparison

dégât#24,555

dégâts#4,228

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dégât" and "dégâts" be used interchangeably?

No. They are pronounced the same (\de.ɡa\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.

Which is more common, "dégât" or "dégâts"?

"dégâts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,228 in our French list, against #24,555 for "dégât". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dégât vs dégâts

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dégât” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable