Which to use
“déprimant” and “dérivant” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,861
- “déprimant” frequency rank
- #43,903
- “dérivant” frequency rank
- 60764
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déprimant | dérivant |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui déprime. — Note d’usage : Il se dit surtout figurément, au sens physique. | Qualifie un filet maillant maintenu en surface par des flotteurs, qui dérive au large avec le courant. |
Where the eye mixes déprimant and dérivant
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. déprimant runs 9 letters (CVCCVCVCC) against dérivant's 8 (CVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between déprimant and dérivant
A purely visual mix-up. déprimant (\de.pʁi.mɑ̃\) and dérivant (\de.ʁi.vɑ̃\) 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 60764, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déprimant is recorded at frequency rank #16,861, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.pʁi.mɑ̃\. dérivant is at rank #43,903, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.ʁi.vɑ̃\.
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 60764, this pair ranks #95,886 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déprimant vs dérivant
Shared letters: adinrté. Private to "déprimant": mp. Private to "dérivant": v.
"déprimant" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC · "dérivant" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déprimant" for "dérivant" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "déprimant" or "dérivant" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "déprimant" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérivant" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #95,886 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déprimant" and "dérivant" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dérivant vs dérivent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #95,886 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.