Which to use
“dérapage” is a noun and “dérape” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,606
- “dérapage” frequency rank
- #27,789
- “dérape” frequency rank
- 49395
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérapage | dérape |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de déraper ; résultat de cette action. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de déraper. |
Where the eye mixes dérapage and dérape
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dérapage runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against dérape's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: dérapage vs dérape
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dérapage is \de.ʁa.paʒ\ while dérape is \de.ʁap\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49395, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dérapage is recorded at frequency rank #21,606, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁa.paʒ\. dérape is at rank #27,789, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁap\.
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 49395, this pair ranks #171,045 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dérapage vs dérape
Shared letters: adepré. Private to "dérapage": g. Private to "dérape": -.
"dérapage" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "dérape" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dérapage" for "dérape" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dérapage" vs "dérape" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dérapage" and "dérape" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérapage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérape" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #171,045 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérapage" and "dérape" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dérape vs derme". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #171,045 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.