développevsdéveloppéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,071
“développe” frequency rank
#6,610
“développée” frequency rank
10681
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature développe développée
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de développer. Participe passé féminin singulier du verbe développer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set développe and développée apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
développe
10 ch
développée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. développe (\de.vlɔp\) and développée (\dev.lɔ.pe\) 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 10681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

développe is recorded at frequency rank #4,071, classified as averb, pronounced \de.vlɔp\. développée is at rank #6,610, tagged as averb, pronounced \dev.lɔ.pe\.

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 10681, this pair ranks #412,044 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of développe vs développée

Shared letters: delopvé. Private to "développe": -. Private to "développée": -.

"développe" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV  ·  "développée" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

développe#4,071
développée#6,610

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "développe" and "développée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.vlɔp\ versus \dev.lɔ.pe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "développe" or "développée"?
"développe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,071 in our French list, against #6,610 for "développée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering développe vs développée

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list