Which to use
“délier” is a verb and “délires” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,997
- “délier” frequency rank
- #13,161
- “délires” frequency rank
- 58158
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | délier | délires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dégager de ce qui lie. | Pluriel de délire. |
Where the eye mixes délier and délires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. délier runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against délires's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: délier vs délires
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: délier is \de.lje\ while délires is \de.liʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58158, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
délier is recorded at frequency rank #44,997, classified as averb, pronounced \de.lje\. délires is at rank #13,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.liʁ\.
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 58158, this pair ranks #110,695 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of délier vs délires
Shared letters: deilré. Private to "délier": -. Private to "délires": s.
"délier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "délires" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "délier" for "délires" ever safe?
Which is more common, "délier" or "délires"?
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 "délier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "délires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #110,695 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "délier" and "délires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "délier vs déviée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #110,695 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.