dervsdiezWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,909
“der” frequency rank
#48,450
“diez” frequency rank
52359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature der diez
Definition Dernier, dernière ou dernière fois. Forme mutée de tiez par adoucissement (t → d).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set der and diez apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
der
4 ch
diez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. der (\dɛʁ\) and diez (\ˈdiːɛs\) 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 52359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

der is recorded at frequency rank #3,909, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɛʁ\. diez is at rank #48,450, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈdiːɛs\.

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 52359, this pair ranks #148,277 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of der vs diez

Shared letters: de. Private to "der": r. Private to "diez": iz.

"der" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "diez" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • diezddiez · deiz · diezz · dize · idez

Frequency comparison

der#3,909
diez#48,450

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "der" and "diez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dɛʁ\ versus \ˈdiːɛs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "der" or "diez"?
"der" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,909 in our French list, against #48,450 for "diez". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering der vs diez

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 “der” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list