Which to use
“dévier” and “dévoiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,248
- “dévier” frequency rank
- #9,160
- “dévoiler” frequency rank
- 31408
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dévier | dévoiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Se détourner ; être détourné de sa direction. | Découvrir ce qui était couvert d’un voile. |
Where the eye mixes dévier and dévoiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dévier runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against dévoiler's 8 (CVCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dévier with dévoiler
A purely visual mix-up. dévier (\de.vje\) and dévoiler (\de.vwa.le\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31408, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dévier is recorded at frequency rank #22,248, classified as averb, pronounced \de.vje\. dévoiler is at rank #9,160, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.vwa.le\.
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 31408, this pair ranks #303,975 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dévier vs dévoiler
Shared letters: deirvé. Private to "dévier": -. Private to "dévoiler": lo.
"dévier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "dévoiler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dévier" for "dévoiler" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "dévier" or "dévoiler" show up more?
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 "dévier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévoiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #303,975 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dévier" and "dévoiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dévier vs devins". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #303,975 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.