déserts vs desserts, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“déserts” is an adjective and “desserts” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,819
“déserts” frequency rank: #19,256
“desserts” frequency rank: 39075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	déserts	desserts
Definition	Masculin pluriel de désert.	Pluriel de dessert.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

déserts

8 ch

desserts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déserts is \de.zɛʁ\ while desserts is \de.sɛʁ\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déserts is recorded at frequency rank #19,819, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.zɛʁ\. desserts is at rank #19,256, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.sɛʁ\.

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 39075, this pair ranks #250,692 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déserts vs desserts

Shared letters: derst. Private to "déserts": é. Private to "desserts": -.

"déserts" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "desserts" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

desserts ← ddesserts · deserts · desesrts · desserrts · desserst · dessertss · dessertts · dessetrs

Frequency comparison

déserts#19,819

desserts#19,256

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déserts" and "desserts" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "déserts" is an adjective and "desserts" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "déserts" or "desserts"?

"desserts" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,256 in our French list, against #19,819 for "déserts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering déserts vs desserts

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “déserts”; for a noun, it's “desserts”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “déserts” entry
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