déessesvsdétestesConfusable pair

Quick tell: déesses is a noun, détestes is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“déesses” is a noun and “détestes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,991
“déesses” frequency rank
#26,343
“détestes” frequency rank
57334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature déesses détestes
Definition Pluriel de déesse. Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détester.

Where the eye mixes déesses and détestes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. déesses runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against détestes's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
déesses
8 ch
détestes

Visual trap between déesses and détestes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: déesses is \de.ɛs\ while détestes is \de.tɛst\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

déesses is recorded at frequency rank #30,991, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ɛs\. détestes is at rank #26,343, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɛst\.

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 57334, this pair ranks #115,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of déesses vs détestes

Shared letters: desé. Private to "déesses": -. Private to "détestes": t.

"déesses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "détestes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "déesses" and "détestes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "déesses" is a noun and "détestes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary French text, does "déesses" or "détestes" show up more?
"détestes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,343 in our French list, against #30,991 for "déesses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "déesses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détestes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #115,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "déesses" and "détestes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déesses vs dépasses". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #115,674 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