dépasséevsdévastéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#16,606
“dépassée” frequency rank
#24,203
“dévastée” frequency rank
40809
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dépassée dévastée
Definition Féminin singulier de dépassé. Féminin singulier de dévasté.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dépassée and dévastée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
dépassée
8 ch
dévastée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dépassée (\de.pa.se\) and dévastée (\de.vas.te\) 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 40809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dépassée is recorded at frequency rank #16,606, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.pa.se\. dévastée is at rank #24,203, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.vas.te\.

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 40809, this pair ranks #237,737 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dépassée vs dévastée

Shared letters: adesé. Private to "dépassée": p. Private to "dévastée": tv.

"dépassée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV  ·  "dévastée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

dépassée#16,606
dévastée#24,203

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dépassée" and "dévastée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.pa.se\ versus \de.vas.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dépassée" or "dévastée"?
"dépassée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,606 in our French list, against #24,203 for "dévastée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dépassée vs dévastée

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 “dépassée” 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