déplaçantvsdéplaisantWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: déplaçant is a verb, déplaisant is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“déplaçant” is a verb and “déplaisant” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,925
“déplaçant” frequency rank
#40,228
“déplaisant” frequency rank
62153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déplaçant déplaisant
Definition Participe présent de déplacer. Qui déplaît ou qui est de nature à déplaire.

Where the eye mixes déplaçant and déplaisant

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. déplaçant runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCC) against déplaisant's 10 (CVCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
déplaçant
10 ch
déplaisant

Why the eye confuses déplaçant with déplaisant

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déplaçant is \de.pla.sɑ̃\ while déplaisant is \de.plɛ.zɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déplaçant is recorded at frequency rank #21,925, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pla.sɑ̃\. déplaisant is at rank #40,228, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.plɛ.zɑ̃\.

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 62153, this pair ranks #88,588 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of déplaçant vs déplaisant

Shared letters: adlnpté. Private to "déplaçant": ç. Private to "déplaisant": is.

"déplaçant" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC  ·  "déplaisant" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "déplaçant" and "déplaisant" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "déplaçant" is a verb and "déplaisant" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "déplaçant" vs "déplaisant" - which ranks higher?
"déplaçant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,925 in our French list, against #40,228 for "déplaisant". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "déplaçant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "déplaisant" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #88,588 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "déplaçant" and "déplaisant" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déplaisant vs déplaisent". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #88,588 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list