Which to use
“dev” is an adjective and “DST” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,608
- “dev” frequency rank
- #43,896
- “DST” frequency rank
- 59504
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dev | DST |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forme mutée de tev par adoucissement (t → d). | Service de renseignement, organisme d’État fusionné en 2008 avec la Direction centrale des Renseignements généraux (RG) pour donner naissance à la DCRI. |
Where the eye mixes dev and DST
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dev with DST
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dev is \ˈdew\ while DST is \de.ɛs.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59504, 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\. DST is at rank #43,896, tagged as aname, pronounced \de.ɛs.te\.
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 59504, this pair ranks #102,770 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dev vs DST
Shared letters: d. Private to "dev": ev. Private to "DST": st.
"dev" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "DST" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dev" and "DST" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dev" vs "DST" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "dev" and "DST" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dev" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "DST" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #102,770 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dev" and "DST" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs DST". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #102,770 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.