Which to use
“dérouler” and “désoler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,956
- “dérouler” frequency rank
- #39,770
- “désoler” frequency rank
- 51726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dérouler | désoler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Étendre ce qui était roulé et le mettre de son long. | Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages. |
Where the eye mixes dérouler and désoler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dérouler runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against désoler's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: dérouler vs désoler
A purely visual mix-up. dérouler (\de.ʁu.le\) and désoler (\de.zɔ.le\) 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 51726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dérouler is recorded at frequency rank #11,956, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ʁu.le\. désoler is at rank #39,770, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.zɔ.le\.
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 51726, this pair ranks #152,903 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dérouler vs désoler
Shared letters: deloré. Private to "dérouler": u. Private to "désoler": s.
"dérouler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dérouler" and "désoler" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dérouler" or "désoler"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dérouler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désoler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,903 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dérouler" and "désoler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs désoler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #152,903 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.