Which to use
“déplaise” and “déplaisent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,430
- “déplaise” frequency rank
- #47,857
- “déplaisent” frequency rank
- 68287
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déplaise | déplaisent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de déplaire. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de déplaire. |
Same sound, different letters: déplaise vs déplaisent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. déplaise runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against déplaisent's 10 (CVCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - déplaise and déplaisent
This is the hard kind. déplaise and déplaisent are pronounced identically (\de.plɛz\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “déplaise” sits inside “déplaisent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68287, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déplaise is recorded at frequency rank #20,430, classified as averb, pronounced \de.plɛz\. déplaisent is at rank #47,857, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.plɛz\.
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 68287, this pair ranks #59,777 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déplaise vs déplaisent
Shared letters: adeilpsé. Private to "déplaise": -. Private to "déplaisent": nt.
"déplaise" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "déplaisent" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déplaise" for "déplaisent" ever safe?
Which is more common, "déplaise" or "déplaisent"?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "déplaise" / "déplaisent". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "déplaise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déplaisent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,777 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déplaise" and "déplaisent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déplaisant vs déplaisent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #59,777 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.