Which to use
“dérive” and “derme” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,052
- “dérive” frequency rank
- #46,692
- “derme” frequency rank
- 53744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérive | derme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Écart, déviation entre le cap effectivement suivi par un navire ou un aéroplane et le cap initialement fixé. | Tissu qui forme la partie la plus épaisse de la peau entre l’épiderme et l'hypoderme. |
Where the eye mixes dérive and derme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. dérive runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against derme's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between dérive and derme
A purely visual mix-up. dérive (\de.ʁiv\) and derme (\dɛʁm\) 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 53744, 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\. derme is at rank #46,692, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɛʁm\.
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 53744, this pair ranks #138,676 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dérive vs derme
Shared letters: der. Private to "dérive": ivé. Private to "derme": m.
"dérive" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "derme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- derme ← dderme · demre · derem · dermme · derrme · dreme · edrme
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dérive" and "derme" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dérive" vs "derme" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérive" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "derme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #138,676 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérive" and "derme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dèche vs derme". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #138,676 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.