délirer vs dévier, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#36,817
“délirer” frequency rank: #22,248
“dévier” frequency rank: 59065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	délirer	dévier
Definition	Avoir le délire ; être en délire.	Se détourner ; être détourné de sa direction.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

délirer

6 ch

dévier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. délirer (\de.li.ʁe\) and dévier (\de.vje\) 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 59065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

délirer is recorded at frequency rank #36,817, classified as averb, pronounced \de.li.ʁe\. dévier is at rank #22,248, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vje\.

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 59065, this pair ranks #105,267 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of délirer vs dévier

Shared letters: deiré. Private to "délirer": l. Private to "dévier": v.

"délirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dévier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequency comparison

délirer#36,817

dévier#22,248

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "délirer" and "dévier" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.li.ʁe\ versus \de.vje\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "délirer" or "dévier"?

"dévier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,248 in our French list, against #36,817 for "délirer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering délirer vs dévier

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 “délirer” entry
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