Which to use
“désirer” and “désoler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,581
- “désirer” frequency rank
- #39,770
- “désoler” frequency rank
- 53351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désirer | désoler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vouloir posséder un bien ou un avantage qu’on n’a pas. | Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages. |
Where the eye mixes désirer and désoler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. désirer and désoler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses désirer with désoler
A purely visual mix-up. désirer (\de.zi.ʁe\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désirer is recorded at frequency rank #13,581, classified as averb, pronounced \de.zi.ʁe\. 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 53351, this pair ranks #141,301 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of désirer vs désoler
Shared letters: dersé. Private to "désirer": i. Private to "désoler": lo.
"désirer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "désirer" and "désoler" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "désirer" or "désoler"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "désirer" and "désoler" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "désirer" 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 #141,301 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désirer" and "désoler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs désoler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #141,301 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.