Which to use
“déjà” is an adverb and “dép” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #122
- “déjà” frequency rank
- #41,754
- “dép” frequency rank
- 41876
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déjà | dép |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Indique un changement d’état ou une atteinte du critère jusqu’à présent ou jusqu’alors. | Dépanneur. |
Where the eye mixes déjà and dép
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: déjà vs dép
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déjà is \de.ʒa\ while dép is \dɛp\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41876, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déjà is recorded at frequency rank #122, classified as anadv, pronounced \de.ʒa\. dép is at rank #41,754, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɛp\.
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 41876, this pair ranks #229,865 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déjà vs dép
Shared letters: dé. Private to "déjà": jà. Private to "dép": p.
"déjà" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dép" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déjà" and "dép" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "déjà" or "dép" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déjà" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dép" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #229,865 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déjà" and "dép" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs dép". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #229,865 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.