Which to use
“désir” is a noun and “désirer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,670
- “désir” frequency rank
- #13,581
- “désirer” frequency rank
- 16251
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désir | désirer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de désirer ; résultat de cette action. | Vouloir posséder un bien ou un avantage qu’on n’a pas. |
Where the eye mixes désir and désirer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: désir vs désirer
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: désir is \de.ziʁ\ while désirer is \de.zi.ʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “désir” sits inside “désirer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16251, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désir is recorded at frequency rank #2,670, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ziʁ\. désirer is at rank #13,581, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.zi.ʁe\.
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 16251, this pair ranks #388,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of désir vs désirer
Shared letters: dirsé. Private to "désir": -. Private to "désirer": e.
"désir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "désirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désir" for "désirer" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "désir" or "désirer" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "désir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désirer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #388,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désir" and "désirer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désirer vs désister". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #388,697 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.