Which to use
“dépens” is a noun and “deviens” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,312
- “dépens” frequency rank
- #6,181
- “deviens” frequency rank
- 15493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépens | deviens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ce qu’on dépense. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de devenir. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dépens and deviens apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
dépens and deviens form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dépens is recorded at frequency rank #9,312, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.pɑ̃\. deviens is at rank #6,181, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.vjɛ̃\.
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 15493, this pair ranks #392,112 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dépens" and "deviens" be used interchangeably?
Remembering dépens vs deviens
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dépens”; for a verb, it's “deviens”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dépens” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable