dégelvsdegréWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,070
“dégel” frequency rank
#2,871
“degré” frequency rank
36941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dégel degré
Definition Fonte naturelle de la glace et de la neige par l’adoucissement de la température, qui remonte au-dessus de zéro degrés Celsius. Espace compris entre deux marches d’un escalier.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
dégel
5 ch
degré

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dégel (\de.ʒɛl\) 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 36941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dégel is recorded at frequency rank #34,070, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʒɛl\. 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 36941, this pair ranks #266,035 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dégel vs degré

Shared letters: degé. Private to "dégel": l. Private to "degré": r.

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

Frequency comparison

dégel#34,070
degré#2,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dégel" and "degré" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ʒɛl\ versus \də.ɡʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dégel" or "degré"?
"degré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,871 in our French list, against #34,070 for "dégel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering dégel 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 “dégel” 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