degrévsdermeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,871
“degré” frequency rank
#46,692
“derme” frequency rank
49563
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature degré derme
Definition Espace compris entre deux marches d’un escalier. Tissu qui forme la partie la plus épaisse de la peau entre l’épiderme et l'hypoderme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set degré and derme apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
degré
5 ch
derme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. degré (\də.ɡʁe\) and derme (\dɛʁm\) 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 49563, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

degré is recorded at frequency rank #2,871, classified as anoun, pronounced \də.ɡʁe\. derme is at rank #46,692, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɛʁm\.

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 49563, this pair ranks #169,611 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of degré vs derme

Shared letters: der. Private to "degré": . Private to "derme": m.

"degré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "derme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dermedderme · demre · derem · dermme · derrme · dreme · edrme

Frequency comparison

degré#2,871
derme#46,692

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "degré" and "derme" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\də.ɡʁe\ versus \dɛʁm\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "degré" or "derme"?
"degré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,871 in our French list, against #46,692 for "derme". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering degré vs derme

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 “degré” 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