deirvsdemisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,242
“deir” frequency rank
#35,459
“demis” frequency rank
73701
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deir demis
Definition Forme mutée de teir par adoucissement (t → d). Masculin pluriel de demi.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
deir
5 ch
demis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. deir (\dɛjr\) and demis (\də.mi\) 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 73701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

deir is recorded at frequency rank #38,242, classified as anadj, pronounced \dɛjr\. demis is at rank #35,459, tagged as anadj, pronounced \də.mi\.

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 73701, this pair ranks #39,574 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deir vs demis

Shared letters: dei. Private to "deir": r. Private to "demis": ms.

"deir" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "demis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deirddeir · deirr · deri · edir
  • demisddemis · deims · demiss · demmis · demsi · dmeis · edmis

Frequency comparison

deir#38,242
demis#35,459

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deir" and "demis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dɛjr\ versus \də.mi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "deir" or "demis"?
"demis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,459 in our French list, against #38,242 for "deir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering deir vs demis

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 “deir” 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