Which to use
“dérivation” and “déviation” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,707
- “dérivation” frequency rank
- #18,732
- “déviation” frequency rank
- 45439
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérivation | déviation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de dériver des eaux. | Action de dévier ou résultat de cette action. |
Where the eye mixes dérivation and déviation
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dérivation and déviation
A purely visual mix-up. dérivation (\de.ʁi.va.sjɔ̃\) and déviation (\de.vja.sjɔ̃\) 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 45439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dérivation is recorded at frequency rank #26,707, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁi.va.sjɔ̃\. déviation is at rank #18,732, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.vja.sjɔ̃\.
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 45439, this pair ranks #202,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dérivation vs déviation
Shared letters: adinotvé. Private to "dérivation": r. Private to "déviation": -.
"dérivation" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC · "déviation" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dérivation" for "déviation" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dérivation" vs "déviation" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérivation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déviation" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérivation" and "déviation" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déviation vs déviations". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #202,698 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.