demandervsdémangeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#602
“demander” frequency rank
#40,226
“démange” frequency rank
40828
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demander démange
Definition Indiquer à quelqu’un par des paroles, par un écrit ou tout autre moyen ce qu’on désire obtenir de lui. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de démanger.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
demander
7 ch
démange

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. demander (\də.mɑ̃.de\) and démange (\de.mɑ̃ʒ\) 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 40828, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demander is recorded at frequency rank #602, classified as averb, pronounced \də.mɑ̃.de\. démange is at rank #40,226, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.mɑ̃ʒ\.

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 40828, this pair ranks #237,577 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of demander vs démange

Shared letters: ademn. Private to "demander": r. Private to "démange": .

"demander" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "démange" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demanderddemander · deamnder · demadner · demandder · demanderr · demandre · demanedr · demannder

Frequency comparison

demander#602
démange#40,226

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "demander" and "démange" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\də.mɑ̃.de\ versus \de.mɑ̃ʒ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "demander" or "démange"?
"demander" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #602 in our French list, against #40,226 for "démange". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering demander vs démange

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 “demander” 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