Which to use
“développe” and “développer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,071
- “développe” frequency rank
- #1,812
- “développer” frequency rank
- 5883
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | développe | développer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de développer. | Dégager une chose de ce qui l’enveloppe. |
Where the eye mixes développe and développer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. développe runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCCV) against développer's 10 (CVCVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses développe with développer
A purely visual mix-up. développe (\de.vlɔp\) and développer (\dɛv.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 extra letter(s) - “développe” sits inside “développer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5883, 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\. développer is at rank #1,812, tagged as averb, pronounced \dɛv.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 5883, this pair ranks #427,787 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of développe vs développer
Shared letters: delopvé. Private to "développe": -. Private to "développer": r.
"développe" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV · "développer" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "développe" and "développer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "développe" or "développer"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "développe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "développer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,787 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "développe" and "développer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "développe vs développera". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #427,787 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.