Which to use
“déroute” and “doute” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,460
- “déroute” frequency rank
- #489
- “doute” frequency rank
- 14949
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déroute | doute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fuite de troupes qui ont été défaites ou qui ont pris l’épouvante d’elles-mêmes. | Incertitude sur l’existence ou la vérité d’une chose, sur l'exactitude ou la fausseté d’une idée, d’une affirmation. |
Where the eye mixes déroute and doute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: déroute vs doute
A purely visual mix-up. déroute (\de.ʁut\) and doute (\dut\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déroute is recorded at frequency rank #14,460, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁut\. doute is at rank #489, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dut\.
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 14949, this pair ranks #394,517 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of déroute vs doute
Shared letters: deotu. Private to "déroute": ré. Private to "doute": -.
"déroute" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "doute" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- doute ← ddoute · dotue · douet · doutte · duote · odute
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déroute" and "doute" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "déroute" or "doute"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "déroute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #394,517 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déroute" and "doute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déroula vs déroute". 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 #394,517 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.