Which to use
“dérive” is a noun and “dérivent” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,052
- “dérive” frequency rank
- #39,274
- “dérivent” frequency rank
- 46326
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérive | dérivent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Écart, déviation entre le cap effectivement suivi par un navire ou un aéroplane et le cap initialement fixé. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de dériver. |
Same sound, different letters: dérive vs dérivent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. dérive runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against dérivent's 8 (CVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - dérive / dérivent
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: dérive and dérivent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.ʁiv\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dérive” sits inside “dérivent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dérive is recorded at frequency rank #7,052, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁiv\. dérivent is at rank #39,274, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁiv\.
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 46326, this pair ranks #195,852 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dérive vs dérivent
Shared letters: deirvé. Private to "dérive": -. Private to "dérivent": nt.
"dérive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "dérivent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dérive" and "dérivent" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "dérive" or "dérivent" show up more?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérive" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérivent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #195,852 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérive" and "dérivent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dérivant vs dérivent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #195,852 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.