désirsvsdevinsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“désirs” and “devins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,819
“désirs” frequency rank
#47,827
“devins” frequency rank
55646
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désirs devins
Definition Pluriel de désir. Pluriel de devin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désirs and devins apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
désirs
6 ch
devins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. désirs (\de.ziʁ\) and devins (\də.vɛ̃\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55646, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désirs is recorded at frequency rank #7,819, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ziʁ\. devins is at rank #47,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.vɛ̃\.

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 55646, this pair ranks #126,138 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of désirs vs devins

Shared letters: dis. Private to "désirs": . Private to "devins": env.

"désirs" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "devins" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • devinsddevins · deivns · devinns · devinss · devisn · devnis · devvins · dveins

Frequency comparison

désirs#7,819
devins#47,827

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désirs" and "devins" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ziʁ\ versus \də.vɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "désirs" or "devins"?
"désirs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,819 in our French list, against #47,827 for "devins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering désirs vs devins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “désirs” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list