Which to use
“déjà” is an adverb and “dey” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #122
- “déjà” frequency rank
- #38,244
- “dey” frequency rank
- 38366
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déjà | dey |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Indique un changement d’état ou une atteinte du critère jusqu’à présent ou jusqu’alors. | Chef militaire ottoman, vassal du bey. |
Where the eye mixes déjà and dey
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses déjà with dey
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déjà is \de.ʒa\ while dey is \dɛ\. 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 38366, 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\. dey is at rank #38,244, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɛ\.
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 38366, this pair ranks #255,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déjà vs dey
Shared letters: d. Private to "déjà": jàé. Private to "dey": ey.
"déjà" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "dey" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déjà" for "dey" ever safe?
Which is more common, "déjà" or "dey"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "déjà" and "dey" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "déjà" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dey" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déjà" and "dey" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dey vs dray". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #255,758 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.