Which to use
“dev” is an adjective and “devez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,608
- “dev” frequency rank
- #2,569
- “devez” frequency rank
- 18177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dev | devez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forme mutée de tev par adoucissement (t → d). | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de devoir. |
Where the eye mixes dev and devez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dev with devez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dev is \ˈdew\ while devez is \də.ve\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “dev” sits inside “devez”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dev is recorded at frequency rank #15,608, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈdew\. devez is at rank #2,569, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.ve\.
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 18177, this pair ranks #379,617 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dev vs devez
Shared letters: dev. Private to "dev": -. Private to "devez": z.
"dev" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "devez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- devez ← ddevez · deevz · devezz · devvez · devze · dveez · edvez
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dev" and "devez" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dev" or "devez"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dev" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #379,617 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dev" and "devez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs dev". 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 #379,617 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.