déplairevsdéplaîtWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,299
“déplaire” frequency rank
#23,189
“déplaît” frequency rank
44488
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déplaire déplaît
Definition Être désagréable, en parlant des personnes. Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de déplaire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set déplaire and déplaît apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
déplaire
7 ch
déplaît

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. déplaire (\de.plɛʁ\) and déplaît (\de.plɛ\) 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 44488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déplaire is recorded at frequency rank #21,299, classified as averb, pronounced \de.plɛʁ\. déplaît is at rank #23,189, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.plɛ\.

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 44488, this pair ranks #210,105 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déplaire vs déplaît

Shared letters: adlpé. Private to "déplaire": eir. Private to "déplaît": .

"déplaire" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "déplaît" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Frequency comparison

déplaire#21,299
déplaît#23,189

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déplaire" and "déplaît" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.plɛʁ\ versus \de.plɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "déplaire" or "déplaît"?
"déplaire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,299 in our French list, against #23,189 for "déplaît". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déplaire vs déplaît

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 “déplaire” 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