Which to use
“désobéir” and “désoler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,261
- “désobéir” frequency rank
- #39,770
- “désoler” frequency rank
- 78031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désobéir | désoler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ne pas obéir, refuser d’obéir à quelqu’un, soit en faisant ce qui est défendu, soit en ne faisant pas ce qui est commandé, refuser de se soumettre à une volonté. | Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages. |
Where the eye mixes désobéir and désoler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between désobéir and désoler
A purely visual mix-up. désobéir (\de.zo.be.iʁ\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désobéir is recorded at frequency rank #38,261, classified as averb, pronounced \de.zo.be.iʁ\. 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 78031, this pair ranks #26,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of désobéir vs désoler
Shared letters: dorsé. Private to "désobéir": bi. Private to "désoler": el.
"désobéir" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "désobéir" and "désoler" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "désobéir" or "désoler"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "désobéir" 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 #26,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désobéir" and "désoler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs désoler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #26,811 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.