dièsevsdîmesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#33,643
“dièse” frequency rank
#41,760
“dîmes” frequency rank
75403
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dièse dîmes
Definition Symbole graphique, formé de deux doubles barres croisées, (♯) appartenant à la famille des altérations et dont la fonction est d’indiquer sur la partition, que la hauteur naturelle de la note associée à ce dièse, ou à la clef, sur la ligne où se place la note, doit être élevée d’un demi-ton chromatique. Pluriel de dîme.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dièse and dîmes apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dièse
5 ch
dîmes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dièse (\djɛz\) and dîmes (\dim\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75403, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dièse is recorded at frequency rank #33,643, classified as anoun, pronounced \djɛz\. dîmes is at rank #41,760, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dim\.

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 75403, this pair ranks #34,194 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dièse vs dîmes

Shared letters: des. Private to "dièse": . Private to "dîmes": .

"dièse" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "dîmes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

dièse#33,643
dîmes#41,760

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dièse" and "dîmes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\djɛz\ versus \dim\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dièse" or "dîmes"?
"dièse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,643 in our French list, against #41,760 for "dîmes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dièse vs dîmes

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 “dièse” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list