deirvsdévierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: deir is a adjective, dévier is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“deir” is an adjective and “dévier” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,242
“deir” frequency rank
#22,248
“dévier” frequency rank
60490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature deir dévier
Definition Forme mutée de teir par adoucissement (t → d). Se détourner ; être détourné de sa direction.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
deir
6 ch
dévier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: deir is \dɛjr\ while dévier is \de.vje\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60490, 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\. dévier is at rank #22,248, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vje\.

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 60490, this pair ranks #97,318 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of deir vs dévier

Shared letters: deir. Private to "deir": -. Private to "dévier": .

"deir" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "dévier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • deirddeir · deirr · deri · edir

Frequency comparison

deir#38,242
dévier#22,248

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "deir" and "dévier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "deir" is an adjective and "dévier" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "deir" or "dévier"?
"dévier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,248 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 dévier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “deir”; for a verb, it's “dévier”.
  • 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