Which to use
“devaient” and “devraient” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,249
- “devaient” frequency rank
- #1,910
- “devraient” frequency rank
- 5159
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | devaient | devraient |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de devoir. | Troisième personne du pluriel du conditionnel de devoir. |
Where the eye mixes devaient and devraient
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses devaient with devraient
A purely visual mix-up. devaient (\də.vɛ\) and devraient (\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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5159, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
devaient is recorded at frequency rank #3,249, classified as averb, pronounced \də.vɛ\. devraient is at rank #1,910, 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 5159, this pair ranks #429,743 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of devaient vs devraient
Shared letters: adeintv. Private to "devaient": -. Private to "devraient": r.
"devaient" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVVCC · "devraient" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "devaient" and "devraient" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "devaient" or "devraient"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "devaient" and "devraient" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "devaient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "devraient" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,743 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "devaient" and "devraient" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décadent vs devaient". 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 #429,743 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.