Which to use
“dévolu” and “dévoué” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,249
- “dévolu” frequency rank
- #17,942
- “dévoué” frequency rank
- 40191
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dévolu | dévoué |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Transféré d’une personne à une autre, qui est échu à quelqu’un. | Qui est disposé à tout faire pour être utile ou agréable à quelqu’un. |
Where the eye mixes dévolu and dévoué
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. dévolu (CVCVCV) and dévoué (CVCVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between dévolu and dévoué
A purely visual mix-up. dévolu (\de.vɔ.ly\) and dévoué (\de.vwe\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40191, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dévolu is recorded at frequency rank #22,249, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.vɔ.ly\. dévoué is at rank #17,942, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.vwe\.
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 40191, this pair ranks #242,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dévolu vs dévoué
Shared letters: douvé. Private to "dévolu": l. Private to "dévoué": -.
"dévolu" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "dévoué" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dévolu" for "dévoué" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dévolu" vs "dévoué" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dévolu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dévoué" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,340 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dévolu" and "dévoué" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dévolu vs dévolus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #242,340 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.