Which to use
“dorme” and “dormir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,132
- “dorme” frequency rank
- #1,861
- “dormir” frequency rank
- 31993
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dorme | dormir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de dormir. | Se reposer dans un état inconscient, de sommeil. |
Where the eye mixes dorme and dormir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses dorme with dormir
A purely visual mix-up. dorme (\dɔʁm\) and dormir (\dɔʁ.miʁ\) 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 31993, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dorme is recorded at frequency rank #30,132, classified as averb, pronounced \dɔʁm\. dormir is at rank #1,861, tagged as averb, pronounced \dɔʁ.miʁ\.
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 31993, this pair ranks #300,256 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dorme vs dormir
Shared letters: dmor. Private to "dorme": e. Private to "dormir": i.
"dorme" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "dormir" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dorme" and "dormir" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dorme" vs "dormir" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "dorme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dormir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,256 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dorme" and "dormir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "domi vs dorme". 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 #300,256 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.