détectives

\de.tɛk.tiv\

/\de.tɛk.tiv\/ adj

The verdict

“détectives” has 16 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #29,751. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#29,751
frequency rank, French
5,307
“D” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Féminin pluriel de détectif.

Corpus desk

Index FR-detectives · détectives · French

détectives · rank #29,751 · 16 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #29,751
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,307
  • PHOTO-FINISH désintégration

Nearest frequency peer: désintégration (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “détectives”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “détectives” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

détectives vs directives
80% similar
détectives vs détectés
70% similar
détectives vs détective
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for détectives
PropertyValue
Headworddétectives
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\de.tɛk.tiv\
Letters10
Frequency rank#29,751
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Où “détectives” se place dans la fréquence du français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.détectivesse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Les tics avancent en logarithme; chacun est de l'ordre de dix fois plus rare. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « désintégration » (#29,750), « dévastateur » (#29,752), « déshonneur » (#29,749). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around détectives (IPA \de.tɛk.tiv\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #29,751 among 5,307 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Féminin pluriel de détectif.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for détectives, with forms such as "ddétectives", "detectives", and "dtéectives". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "directives", "détectés", "détective", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is détectives, spelled D-É-T-E-C-T-I-V-E-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Féminin pluriel de détectif.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddétectives
  • detectives
  • dtéectives
  • déetctives
  • détcetives
  • détecctives
  • détecitves
  • détectievs
  • détectivess
  • détectivse
  • détectivves
  • détecttives
  • détectvies
  • détetcives
  • déttectives
  • édtectives

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of détectives - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddétectives1detectives1dtéectives2déetctives2détcetives2détecctives1détecitves2détectievs2
Edit distance from "détectives"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "détectives"?
"détectives" is spelled D-É-T-E-C-T-I-V-E-S. The IPA pronunciation is \de.tɛk.tiv\.
What does "détectives" mean?
As an adjective, "détectives" means: Féminin pluriel de détectif.
What words are commonly confused with "détectives"?
"détectives" is commonly confused with "directives", "détectés", "détective". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "détectives"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "détectives" is \de.tɛk.tiv\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "détectives" come from?
"détectives" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "détectives", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "détectives". Here's where to go from here.

  • "détectives" maps to 4 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "directives". View pair
  • 16 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #29,751 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list