Which to use
“diodes” and “dires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,284
- “diodes” frequency rank
- #11,949
- “dires” frequency rank
- 54233
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | diodes | dires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de diode. | Pluriel de dire. |
Where the eye mixes diodes and dires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. diodes runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against dires's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between diodes and dires
A purely visual mix-up. diodes (\djɔd\) and dires (\diʁ\) 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 54233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
diodes is recorded at frequency rank #42,284, classified as anoun, pronounced \djɔd\. dires is at rank #11,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced \diʁ\.
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 54233, this pair ranks #135,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of diodes vs dires
Shared letters: deis. Private to "diodes": o. Private to "dires": r.
"diodes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "dires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "diodes" for "dires" ever safe?
Which is more common, "diodes" or "dires"?
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 "diodes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #135,362 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "diodes" and "dires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "diode vs diodes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #135,362 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.