Which to use
“dates” and “dattes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,603
- “dates” frequency rank
- #34,053
- “dattes” frequency rank
- 37656
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dates | dattes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de date. | Pluriel de datte. |
Same sound, different letters: dates vs dattes
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters.
Homophone desk: dates vs dattes
This is the hard kind. dates and dattes are pronounced identically (\dat\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37656, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dates is recorded at frequency rank #3,603, classified as anoun, pronounced \dat\. 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 37656, this pair ranks #260,913 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dates vs dattes
Shared letters: adest. Private to "dates": -. Private to "dattes": -.
"dates" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "dattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dates" and "dattes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "dates" vs "dattes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "dates" / "dattes". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "dates" 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 #260,913 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dates" 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 #260,913 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.