Which to use
“dattes” and “dettes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,053
- “dattes” frequency rank
- #5,236
- “dettes” frequency rank
- 39289
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dattes | dettes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de datte. | Pluriel de dette. |
Where the eye mixes dattes and dettes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dattes and dettes
A purely visual mix-up. dattes (\dat\) and dettes (\dɛt\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - a in “dattes” becomes e in “dettes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39289, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dattes is recorded at frequency rank #34,053, classified as anoun, pronounced \dat\. dettes is at rank #5,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɛt\.
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 39289, this pair ranks #249,114 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dattes vs dettes
Shared letters: dest. Private to "dattes": a. Private to "dettes": -.
"dattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "dettes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dattes" and "dettes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dattes" or "dettes"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "dattes" and "dettes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dattes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dettes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #249,114 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dattes" and "dettes" 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 #249,114 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.