datentvsdatesConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#12,548
“datent” frequency rank
#3,603
“dates” frequency rank
16151
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature datent dates
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de dater. Pluriel de date.

Same sound, different letters: datent vs dates

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters.

6 ch
datent
5 ch
dates

Homophone desk: datent vs dates

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: datent and dates carry the same recorded pronunciation, \dat\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

datent is recorded at frequency rank #12,548, classified as averb, pronounced \dat\. dates is at rank #3,603, 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 16151, this pair ranks #389,141 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of datent vs dates

Shared letters: adet. Private to "datent": n. Private to "dates": s.

"datent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "dates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • datentadtent · daetnt · datennt · datentt · datetn · datnet · dattent · ddatent
  • datesadtes · daets · datess · datse · ddates · dtaes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "datent" for "dates" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "datent" is a verb and "dates" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary French text, does "datent" or "dates" show up more?
"dates" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,603 in our French list, against #12,548 for "datent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.

  • Full dictionary entry for "datent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dates" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #389,141 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "datent" and "dates" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "datent vs dotant". 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 #389,141 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