déliervsdélitsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: délier is a verb, délits is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“délier” is a verb and “délits” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#44,997
“délier” frequency rank
#9,818
“délits” frequency rank
54815
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature délier délits
Definition Dégager de ce qui lie. Pluriel de délit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set délier and délits apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
délier
6 ch
délits

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: délier is \de.lje\ while délits is \de.li\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54815, 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\. délits is at rank #9,818, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.li\.

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 54815, this pair ranks #131,479 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of délier vs délits

Shared letters: dilé. Private to "délier": er. Private to "délits": st.

"délier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "délits" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Frequency comparison

délier#44,997
délits#9,818

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "délier" and "délits" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "délier" is a verb and "délits" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "délier" or "délits"?
"délits" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,818 in our French list, against #44,997 for "délier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering délier vs délits

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “délier”; for a noun, it's “délits”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “délier” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list