dégâtvsdegréWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,555
“dégât” frequency rank
#2,871
“degré” frequency rank
27426
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dégât degré
Definition Dommage, détérioration amenés par un accident ou une cause violente. Espace compris entre deux marches d’un escalier.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dégât and degré apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dégât
5 ch
degré

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dégât (\de.ɡa\) and degré (\də.ɡʁe\) 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 27426, 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\. degré is at rank #2,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.ɡʁe\.

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 27426, this pair ranks #329,037 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dégât vs degré

Shared letters: dgé. Private to "dégât": . Private to "degré": er.

"dégât" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "degré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

dégât#24,555
degré#2,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dégât" and "degré" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ɡa\ versus \də.ɡʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dégât" or "degré"?
"degré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,871 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 degré

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list