dattesvsdoutesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“dattes” and “doutes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,053
“dattes” frequency rank
#4,748
“doutes” frequency rank
38801
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dattes doutes
Definition Pluriel de datte. Pluriel de doute.

Where the eye mixes dattes and doutes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. dattes (CVCCVC) and doutes (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
dattes
6 ch
doutes

Why the eye confuses dattes with doutes

A purely visual mix-up. dattes (\dat\) and doutes (\dut\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38801, 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\. doutes is at rank #4,748, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dut\.

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 38801, this pair ranks #252,706 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dattes vs doutes

Shared letters: dest. Private to "dattes": a. Private to "doutes": ou.

"dattes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "doutes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dattes ← adttes · datets · dattess · dattse · ddattes · dtates
  • doutes ← ddoutes · dotues · douets · doutess · doutse · douttes · duotes · odutes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "dattes" and "doutes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\dat\ versus \dut\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dattes" vs "doutes" - which ranks higher?
"doutes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,748 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "dattes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "doutes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #252,706 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "dattes" and "doutes" 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 #252,706 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