Which to use
“dépenser” and “dispenser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,609
- “dépenser” frequency rank
- #24,935
- “dispenser” frequency rank
- 31544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépenser | dispenser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Employer telle ou telle somme à l’achat de telle ou telle chose. | Exempter de la règle ordinaire, par faveur spéciale, ou simplement exempter de quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes dépenser and dispenser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. dépenser runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against dispenser's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dépenser with dispenser
A purely visual mix-up. dépenser (\de.pɑ̃.se\) and dispenser (\dis.pɑ̃.se\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dépenser is recorded at frequency rank #6,609, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.se\. dispenser is at rank #24,935, tagged as averb, pronounced \dis.pɑ̃.se\.
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 31544, this pair ranks #303,133 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dépenser vs dispenser
Shared letters: denprs. Private to "dépenser": é. Private to "dispenser": i.
"dépenser" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "dispenser" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- dispenser ← ddispenser · dipsenser · disepnser · dispenesr · dispennser · dispenserr · dispensre · dispensser
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dépenser" and "dispenser" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "dépenser" or "dispenser" show up more?
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 "dépenser" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dispenser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,133 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dépenser" and "dispenser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dispensée vs dispenser". 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 #303,133 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.