délicevsdélivreWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“délice” and “délivre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,267
“délice” frequency rank
#13,774
“délivre” frequency rank
33041
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature délice délivre
Definition Plaisir extrême. Nom vulgaire de l’arrière-faix, dont la sortie termine l’accouchement.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set délice and délivre apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
délice
7 ch
délivre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. délice (\de.lis\) and délivre (\de.livʁ\) 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 33041, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

délice is recorded at frequency rank #19,267, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.lis\. délivre is at rank #13,774, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.livʁ\.

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 33041, this pair ranks #293,250 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of délice vs délivre

Shared letters: deilé. Private to "délice": c. Private to "délivre": rv.

"délice" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "délivre" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

délice#19,267
délivre#13,774

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "délice" and "délivre" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.lis\ versus \de.livʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "délice" or "délivre"?
"délivre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,774 in our French list, against #19,267 for "délice". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering délice vs délivre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “délice” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list