Which to use
“dérape” and “dérobe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,789
- “dérape” frequency rank
- #39,767
- “dérobe” frequency rank
- 67556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérape | dérobe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de déraper. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de dérober. |
Where the eye mixes dérape and dérobe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dérape and dérobe follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between dérape and dérobe
A purely visual mix-up. dérape (\de.ʁap\) and dérobe (\de.ʁɔb\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dérape is recorded at frequency rank #27,789, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ʁap\. dérobe is at rank #39,767, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁɔb\.
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 67556, this pair ranks #62,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dérape vs dérobe
Shared letters: deré. Private to "dérape": ap. Private to "dérobe": bo.
"dérape" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "dérobe" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dérape" and "dérobe" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "dérape" or "dérobe" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dérape" and "dérobe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérobe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérape" and "dérobe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derme vs dérobe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #62,905 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.