Which to use
“délai” is a noun and “Dubaï” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,711
- “délai” frequency rank
- #13,156
- “Dubaï” frequency rank
- 15867
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délai | Dubaï |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Temps accordé pour faire une chose, ou à l’expiration duquel on sera tenu de faire une certaine chose. | Émirat de la péninsule arabique, un des Émirats arabes unis. |
Where the eye mixes délai and Dubaï
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: délai vs Dubaï
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: délai is \de.lɛ\ while Dubaï is \du.baj\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15867, 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\. Dubaï is at rank #13,156, tagged as aname, pronounced \du.baj\.
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 15867, this pair ranks #390,498 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of délai vs Dubaï
Shared letters: ad. Private to "délai": ilé. Private to "Dubaï": buï.
"délai" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "Dubaï" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "délai" for "Dubaï" ever safe?
Which is more common, "délai" or "Dubaï"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "délai" and "Dubaï" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "délai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Dubaï" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #390,498 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délai" and "Dubaï" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Dubaï vs Dubuc". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #390,498 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.