désolésvsdévoluesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,146
“désolés” frequency rank
#46,133
“dévolues” frequency rank
74279
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désolés dévolues
Definition Masculin pluriel de l’adjectif désolé. Féminin pluriel de dévolu.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désolés and dévolues apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
désolés
8 ch
dévolues

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. désolés (\de.zɔ.le\) and dévolues (\de.vɔ.ly\) 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 74279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désolés is recorded at frequency rank #28,146, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.zɔ.le\. dévolues is at rank #46,133, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.vɔ.ly\.

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 74279, this pair ranks #37,637 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of désolés vs dévolues

Shared letters: dlosé. Private to "désolés": -. Private to "dévolues": euv.

"désolés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "dévolues" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

désolés#28,146
dévolues#46,133

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désolés" and "dévolues" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.zɔ.le\ versus \de.vɔ.ly\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "désolés" or "dévolues"?
"désolés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,146 in our French list, against #46,133 for "dévolues". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering désolés vs dévolues

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 “désolés” 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