déceptionvsdétectionTell them apart

Which to use

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

#6,950
“déception” frequency rank
#9,988
“détection” frequency rank
16938
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déception détection
Definition Fait d’être déçu ou de subir une situation inférieure à ses attentes. Action de détecter un objet, un corps ou une substance à l’aide d’un appareil.

Where the eye mixes déception and détection

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
déception
9 ch
détection

Why the eye confuses déception with détection

A purely visual mix-up. déception (\de.sɛp.sjɔ̃\) and détection (\de.tɛk.sjɔ̃\) 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 16938, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déception is recorded at frequency rank #6,950, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.sɛp.sjɔ̃\. détection is at rank #9,988, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.tɛk.sjɔ̃\.

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 16938, this pair ranks #385,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of déception vs détection

Shared letters: cdeinoté. Private to "déception": p. Private to "détection": -.

"déception" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC  ·  "détection" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "déception" for "détection" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\de.sɛp.sjɔ̃\ versus \de.tɛk.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "déception" vs "détection" - which ranks higher?
"déception" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,950 in our French list, against #9,988 for "détection". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "déception" and "détection" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "déception" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détection" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #385,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "déception" and "détection" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défections vs détection". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #385,542 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