Which to use
“déroulés” is a noun and “désolés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,191
- “déroulés” frequency rank
- #28,146
- “désolés” frequency rank
- 51337
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déroulés | désolés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de déroulé. | Masculin pluriel de l’adjectif désolé. |
Where the eye mixes déroulés and désolés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. déroulés runs 8 letters (CVCVVCVC) against désolés's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses déroulés with désolés
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déroulés is \de.ʁu.le\ while désolés is \de.zɔ.le\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51337, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déroulés is recorded at frequency rank #23,191, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁu.le\. désolés is at rank #28,146, tagged as anadj, 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 51337, this pair ranks #155,799 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déroulés vs désolés
Shared letters: dlosé. Private to "déroulés": ru. Private to "désolés": -.
"déroulés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC · "désolés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déroulés" for "désolés" ever safe?
Frequency check: "déroulés" vs "désolés" - which ranks higher?
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 "déroulés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désolés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #155,799 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déroulés" and "désolés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désolés vs dévolus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #155,799 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.