Which to use
“délaisser” and “dépasser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,140
- “délaisser” frequency rank
- #4,229
- “dépasser” frequency rank
- 32369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délaisser | dépasser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abandonner, laisser sans aucun secours, sans aucune assistance, sans aucun témoignage d’affection. | Aller au-delà de quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes délaisser and dépasser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. délaisser runs 9 letters (CVCVVCCVC) against dépasser's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses délaisser with dépasser
A purely visual mix-up. délaisser (\de.lɛ.se\) and dépasser (\de.pɑ.se\) 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 32369, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
délaisser is recorded at frequency rank #28,140, classified as averb, pronounced \de.lɛ.se\. dépasser is at rank #4,229, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ.se\.
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 32369, this pair ranks #297,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of délaisser vs dépasser
Shared letters: adersé. Private to "délaisser": il. Private to "dépasser": p.
"délaisser" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "dépasser" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "délaisser" and "dépasser" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "délaisser" or "dépasser"?
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 "délaisser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépasser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,751 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délaisser" and "dépasser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délaissées vs délaisser". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #297,751 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.