Which to use
“dérailler” and “détaille” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,913
- “dérailler” frequency rank
- #14,666
- “détaille” frequency rank
- 50579
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérailler | détaille |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sortir des rails. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détailler. |
Where the eye mixes dérailler and détaille
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. dérailler runs 9 letters (CVCVVCCVC) against détaille's 8 (CVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: dérailler vs détaille
A purely visual mix-up. dérailler (\de.ʁɑ.je\) and détaille (\de.taj\) 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 50579, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dérailler is recorded at frequency rank #35,913, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ʁɑ.je\. détaille is at rank #14,666, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.taj\.
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 50579, this pair ranks #161,557 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dérailler vs détaille
Shared letters: adeilé. Private to "dérailler": r. Private to "détaille": t.
"dérailler" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC · "détaille" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dérailler" and "détaille" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dérailler" vs "détaille" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérailler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détaille" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,557 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérailler" and "détaille" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déraille vs dérailler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #161,557 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.