Which to use
“dégâts” and “départs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,228
- “dégâts” frequency rank
- #9,158
- “départs” frequency rank
- 13386
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dégâts | départs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de dégât. | Pluriel de départ. |
Where the eye mixes dégâts and départs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dégâts runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against départs's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between dégâts and départs
A purely visual mix-up. dégâts (\de.ɡa\) and départs (\de.paʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13386, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dégâts is recorded at frequency rank #4,228, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ɡa\. départs is at rank #9,158, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.paʁ\.
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 13386, this pair ranks #401,225 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dégâts vs départs
Shared letters: dsté. Private to "dégâts": gâ. Private to "départs": apr.
"dégâts" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "départs" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dégâts" and "départs" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dégâts" or "départs"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dégâts" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "départs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #401,225 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dégâts" and "départs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dégages vs dégâts". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #401,225 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.