détruis vs devrais, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#42,847
“détruis” frequency rank: #2,273
“devrais” frequency rank: 45120
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	détruis	devrais
Definition	Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détruire.	Première personne du singulier du conditionnel de devoir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set détruis and devrais apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

détruis

7 ch

devrais

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. détruis (\de.tʁɥi\) and devrais (\də.vʁɛ\) 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 45120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détruis is recorded at frequency rank #42,847, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥi\. devrais is at rank #2,273, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.vʁɛ\.

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 45120, this pair ranks #205,247 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détruis vs devrais

Shared letters: dirs. Private to "détruis": tué. Private to "devrais": aev.

"détruis" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "devrais" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

devrais ← ddevrais · dervais · devaris · devraiss · devrasi · devrias · devrrais · devvrais

Frequency comparison

détruis#42,847

devrais#2,273

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "détruis" and "devrais" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.tʁɥi\ versus \də.vʁɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "détruis" or "devrais"?

"devrais" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,273 in our French list, against #42,847 for "détruis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering détruis vs devrais

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 “détruis” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable