déductionvsdétectionWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#15,133
“déduction” frequency rank
#9,988
“détection” frequency rank
25121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déduction détection
Definition Action de soustraire une somme d'une autre. Action de détecter un objet, un corps ou une substance à l’aide d’un appareil.

Where the eye mixes déduction and détection

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

9 ch
déduction
9 ch
détection

Visual trap between déduction and détection

A purely visual mix-up. déduction (\de.dyk.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 25121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déduction is recorded at frequency rank #15,133, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.dyk.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 25121, this pair ranks #342,693 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of déduction vs détection

Shared letters: cdinoté. Private to "déduction": u. Private to "détection": e.

"déduction" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC  ·  "détection" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "déduction" and "détection" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.dyk.sjɔ̃\ versus \de.tɛk.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "déduction" or "détection"?
"détection" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,988 in our French list, against #15,133 for "déduction". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "déduction" 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 #342,693 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "déduction" and "détection" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défections vs détection". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #342,693 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