délaivsdemainWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,711
“délai” frequency rank
#601
“demain” frequency rank
3312
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature délai demain
Definition Temps accordé pour faire une chose, ou à l’expiration duquel on sera tenu de faire une certaine chose. Les temps à venir.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
délai
6 ch
demain

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. délai (\de.lɛ\) and demain (\də.mɛ̃\) 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 3312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

délai is recorded at frequency rank #2,711, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.lɛ\. demain is at rank #601, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.mɛ̃\.

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 3312, this pair ranks #434,335 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of délai vs demain

Shared letters: adi. Private to "délai": . Private to "demain": emn.

"délai" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "demain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demainddemain · deamin · demainn · demani · demian · demmain · dmeain · edmain

Frequency comparison

délai#2,711
demain#601

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "délai" and "demain" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.lɛ\ versus \də.mɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "délai" or "demain"?
"demain" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #601 in our French list, against #2,711 for "délai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering délai vs demain

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 “délai” 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