Which to use
“démêler” and “démolir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,702
- “démêler” frequency rank
- #15,861
- “démolir” frequency rank
- 42563
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | démêler | démolir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Séparer une chose d’autres choses avec lesquelles elle est mêlée. | Abattre un bâtiment, une construction. |
Where the eye mixes démêler and démolir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. démêler and démolir follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: démêler vs démolir
A purely visual mix-up. démêler (\de.me.le\) and démolir (\de.mɔ.liʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42563, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
démêler is recorded at frequency rank #26,702, classified as averb, pronounced \de.me.le\. démolir is at rank #15,861, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.mɔ.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 42563, this pair ranks #224,648 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of démêler vs démolir
Shared letters: dlmré. Private to "démêler": eê. Private to "démolir": io.
"démêler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "démolir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "démêler" for "démolir" ever safe?
Which is more common, "démêler" or "démolir"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "démêler" and "démolir" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "démêler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démolir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #224,648 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "démêler" and "démolir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs démêler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #224,648 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.