datéesvsdattesTell them apart

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

Which to use

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

#30,973
“datées” frequency rank
#34,053
“dattes” frequency rank
65026
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature datées dattes
Definition Participe passé féminin pluriel de dater. Pluriel de datte.

Where the eye mixes datées and dattes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
datées
6 ch
dattes

Why the eye confuses datées with dattes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: datées is \da.te\ while dattes is \dat\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - é in “datées” becomes t in “dattes”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

datées is recorded at frequency rank #30,973, 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 65026, this pair ranks #74,221 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of datées vs dattes

Shared letters: adest. Private to "datées": é. Private to "dattes": -.

"datées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "dattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "datées" for "dattes" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "datées" is a verb and "dattes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary French text, does "datées" or "dattes" show up more?
"datées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,973 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.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "datées" 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 #74,221 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "datées" and "dattes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "datées vs douées". 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 #74,221 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