Which to use
“défait” and “défaits” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,757
- “défait” frequency rank
- #32,789
- “défaits” frequency rank
- 44546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défait | défaits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est dénoué, déconstruit, mis dans un état inconvenable, désordonné. | Masculin pluriel de défait. |
Same sound, different letters: défait vs défaits
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. défait runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against défaits's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - défait / défaits
This is the hard kind. défait and défaits are pronounced identically (\de.fɛ\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “défait” sits inside “défaits”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défait is recorded at frequency rank #11,757, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.fɛ\. défaits is at rank #32,789, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.fɛ\.
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 44546, this pair ranks #209,668 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défait vs défaits
Shared letters: adfité. Private to "défait": -. Private to "défaits": s.
"défait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "défaits" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défait" for "défaits" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défait" or "défaits" show up more?
Useful next steps
"défait" and "défaits" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "défait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défaits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #209,668 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défait" and "défaits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défaits vs desdits". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #209,668 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.