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 eye mixes dérivée and dérives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dérivée (CVCVCVV) and dérives (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses dérivée with dérives
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dérivée" and "dérives" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dérivée" or "dérives"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérivée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,206 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérivée" and "dérives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décriée vs dérivée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #287,206 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.