datéevsdattesConfusable pair

Quick tell: datée is a verb, dattes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“datée” is a verb and “dattes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,946
“datée” frequency rank
#34,053
“dattes” frequency rank
45999
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature datée dattes
Definition Participe passé féminin singulier de dater. Pluriel de datte.

Where the eye mixes datée and dattes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
datée
6 ch
dattes

Look-alike desk: datée vs dattes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: datée is \da.te\ while dattes is \dat\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45999, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

datée is recorded at frequency rank #11,946, classified as averb, pronounced \da.te\. dattes is at rank #34,053, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dat\.

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 45999, this pair ranks #198,423 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of datée vs dattes

Shared letters: adet. Private to "datée": é. Private to "dattes": s.

"datée" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "dattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dattesadttes · datets · dattess · dattse · ddattes · dtates

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "datée" and "dattes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "datée" is a verb and "dattes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "datée" vs "dattes" - which ranks higher?
"datée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,946 in our French list, against #34,053 for "dattes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "datée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dattes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #198,423 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "datée" and "dattes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "datées vs dattes". 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 #198,423 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list