Which to use
“délation” and “désolation” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,257
- “délation” frequency rank
- #24,952
- “désolation” frequency rank
- 63209
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délation | désolation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dénonciation faite dans un mauvais dessein (obtenir un avantage quelconque, tel de l’argent). | Extrême affliction. |
Where the eye mixes délation and désolation
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between délation and désolation
A purely visual mix-up. délation (\de.la.sjɔ̃\) and désolation (\de.zɔ.la.sjɔ̃\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
délation is recorded at frequency rank #38,257, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.la.sjɔ̃\. désolation is at rank #24,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.zɔ.la.sjɔ̃\.
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 63209, this pair ranks #83,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of délation vs désolation
Shared letters: adilnoté. Private to "délation": -. Private to "désolation": s.
"délation" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "désolation" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "délation" for "désolation" ever safe?
Frequency check: "délation" vs "désolation" - which ranks higher?
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 "délation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désolation" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #83,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délation" and "désolation" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désolation vs dévolution". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #83,194 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.