Which to use
“délai” is a noun and “déplaît” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,711
- “délai” frequency rank
- #23,189
- “déplaît” frequency rank
- 25900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délai | déplaît |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Temps accordé pour faire une chose, ou à l’expiration duquel on sera tenu de faire une certaine chose. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de déplaire. |
Where the eye mixes délai and déplaît
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. délai runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against déplaît's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: délai vs déplaît
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: délai is \de.lɛ\ while déplaît is \de.plɛ\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25900, 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\. déplaît is at rank #23,189, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.plɛ\.
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 25900, this pair ranks #338,240 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of délai vs déplaît
Shared letters: adlé. Private to "délai": i. Private to "déplaît": ptî.
"délai" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "déplaît" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "délai" and "déplaît" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "délai" or "déplaît"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "délai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déplaît" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #338,240 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délai" and "déplaît" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déplaît vs déposait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #338,240 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.