Which to use
“déni” is a noun and “donc” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,206
- “déni” frequency rank
- #113
- “donc” frequency rank
- 11319
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déni | donc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de dénier un fait. | Marque la conclusion d’un raisonnement. |
Where the eye mixes déni and donc
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. déni (CVCV) and donc (CVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: déni vs donc
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déni is \de.ni\ while donc is \dɔ̃k\. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déni is recorded at frequency rank #11,206, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ni\. donc is at rank #113, tagged as anadv, pronounced \dɔ̃k\.
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 11319, this pair ranks #409,612 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of déni vs donc
Shared letters: dn. Private to "déni": ié. Private to "donc": co.
"déni" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "donc" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- donc ← ddonc · dnoc · docn · doncc · donnc · odnc
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déni" and "donc" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "déni" or "donc" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "déni" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "donc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #409,612 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déni" and "donc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déni vs denim". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #409,612 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.