demiesvsdensesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,819
“demies” frequency rank
#18,166
“denses” frequency rank
60985
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature demies denses
Definition Féminin pluriel de demi. Pluriel de dense.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
demies
6 ch
denses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. demies (\də.mi\) and denses (\dɑ̃s\) 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 60985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

demies is recorded at frequency rank #42,819, classified as anadj, pronounced \də.mi\. denses is at rank #18,166, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dɑ̃s\.

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 60985, this pair ranks #94,709 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of demies vs denses

Shared letters: des. Private to "demies": im. Private to "denses": n.

"demies" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "denses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • demiesddemies · deimes · demeis · demiess · demise · demmies · dmeies · edmies
  • densesddenses · deness · dennses · densess · densses · desnes · dneses · ednses

Frequency comparison

demies#42,819
denses#18,166

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "demies" and "denses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\də.mi\ versus \dɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "demies" or "denses"?
"denses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,166 in our French list, against #42,819 for "demies". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering demies vs denses

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 “demies” 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