Which to use
“détours” and “devoirs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,566
- “détours” frequency rank
- #3,836
- “devoirs” frequency rank
- 28402
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détours | devoirs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de détour. | Pluriel de devoir. |
Where the eye mixes détours and devoirs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses détours with devoirs
A purely visual mix-up. détours (\de.tuʁ\) and devoirs (\də.vwaʁ\) 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 28402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détours is recorded at frequency rank #24,566, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.tuʁ\. devoirs is at rank #3,836, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.vwaʁ\.
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 28402, this pair ranks #323,077 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détours vs devoirs
Shared letters: dors. Private to "détours": tué. Private to "devoirs": eiv.
"détours" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "devoirs" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- devoirs ← ddevoirs · deovirs · deviors · devoirrs · devoirss · devoisr · devoris · devvoirs
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "détours" and "devoirs" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "détours" vs "devoirs" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "détours" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devoirs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,077 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détours" and "devoirs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Delors vs détours". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #323,077 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.