Which to use
“délibérer” and “délirer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,295
- “délibérer” frequency rank
- #36,817
- “délirer” frequency rank
- 74112
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délibérer | délirer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se livrer à un examen approfondi à propos d’une question. | Avoir le délire ; être en délire. |
Where the eye mixes délibérer and délirer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. délibérer runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against délirer's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses délibérer with délirer
A purely visual mix-up. délibérer (\de.li.be.ʁe\) and délirer (\de.li.ʁe\) 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 74112, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
délibérer is recorded at frequency rank #37,295, classified as averb, pronounced \de.li.be.ʁe\. délirer is at rank #36,817, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.li.ʁe\.
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 74112, this pair ranks #38,207 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of délibérer vs délirer
Shared letters: deilré. Private to "délibérer": b. Private to "délirer": -.
"délibérer" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "délirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "délibérer" for "délirer" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "délibérer" or "délirer" show up more?
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 "délibérer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délirer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,207 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délibérer" and "délirer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délier vs délirer". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #38,207 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.