dérivéevsdérivesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dérivée” and “dérives” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#22,550
“dérivée” frequency rank
#11,395
“dérives” frequency rank
33945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dérivée dérives
Definition Limite du taux d’accroissement d’une fonction d'une variable réelle en un point quand l’accroissement de la variable tend vers zéro. Pluriel de dérive.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dérivée and dérives apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
dérivée
7 ch
dérives

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dérivée (\de.ʁi.ve\) and dérives (\de.ʁiv\) 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 33945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dérivée is recorded at frequency rank #22,550, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁi.ve\. dérives is at rank #11,395, tagged as anoun, 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 33945, this pair ranks #287,206 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dérivée vs dérives

Shared letters: deirvé. Private to "dérivée": -. Private to "dérives": s.

"dérivée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "dérives" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

dérivée#22,550
dérives#11,395

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dérivée" and "dérives" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ʁi.ve\ versus \de.ʁiv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dérivée" or "dérives"?
"dérives" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,395 in our French list, against #22,550 for "dérivée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dérivée vs dérives

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dérivée” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list