Which to use
“dénouer” and “dévorer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,273
- “dénouer” frequency rank
- #17,692
- “dévorer” frequency rank
- 56965
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dénouer | dévorer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Défaire ce qui forme un nœud, ce qui est noué, ou ce qui est retenu par un nœud. | Manger avec voracité et rapidité (le sujet désigne un animal carnassier). |
Where the eye mixes dénouer and dévorer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. dénouer (CVCVVVC) and dévorer (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: dénouer vs dévorer
A purely visual mix-up. dénouer (\de.nwe\) and dévorer (\de.vɔ.ʁe\) 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 56965, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dénouer is recorded at frequency rank #39,273, classified as averb, pronounced \de.nwe\. dévorer is at rank #17,692, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vɔ.ʁe\.
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 56965, this pair ranks #117,864 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dénouer vs dévorer
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "dénouer": nu. Private to "dévorer": v.
"dénouer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC · "dévorer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dénouer" for "dévorer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dénouer" vs "dévorer" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dénouer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévorer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #117,864 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dénouer" and "dévorer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs dérouter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #117,864 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.