Which to use
“défend” and “défendre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,750
- “défend” frequency rank
- #1,660
- “défendre” frequency rank
- 5410
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défend | défendre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défendre. | Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. |
Where the eye mixes défend and défendre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. défend (\de.fɑ̃\) and défendre (\de.fɑ̃dʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “défend” sits inside “défendre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défend is recorded at frequency rank #3,750, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃\. défendre is at rank #1,660, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃dʁ\.
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 5410, this pair ranks #429,089 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défend vs défendre
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défend": -. Private to "défendre": r.
"défend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "défendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV