dansesvsdensesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: danses is a noun, denses is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“danses” is a noun and “denses” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,466
“danses” frequency rank
#18,166
“denses” frequency rank
27632
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature danses denses
Definition Pluriel de danse. Pluriel de dense.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set danses and denses apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
danses
6 ch
denses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: danses and denses carry the same recorded pronunciation, \dɑ̃s\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - a in “danses” becomes e in “denses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27632, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

danses is recorded at frequency rank #9,466, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɑ̃s\. denses is at rank #18,166, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dɑ̃s\.

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 27632, this pair ranks #327,806 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of danses vs denses

Shared letters: dens. Private to "danses": a. Private to "denses": -.

"danses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "denses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dansesadnses · daness · dannses · dansess · dansses · dasnes · ddanses · dnases
  • densesddenses · deness · dennses · densess · densses · desnes · dneses · ednses

Frequency comparison

danses#9,466
denses#18,166

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "danses" and "denses" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "danses" is a noun and "denses" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "danses" or "denses"?
"danses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,466 in our French list, against #18,166 for "denses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering danses vs denses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “danses”; for an adjective, it's “denses”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “danses” 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