Which to use
“défend” is a verb and “défendue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,750
- “défend” frequency rank
- #13,160
- “défendue” frequency rank
- 16910
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défend | défendue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défendre. | Féminin singulier de défendu. |
Where the eye mixes défend and défendue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défend is \de.fɑ̃\ while défendue is \de.fɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “défend” sits inside “défendue”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16910, 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\. défendue is at rank #13,160, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dy\.
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 16910, this pair ranks #385,686 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défend vs défendue
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défend": -. Private to "défendue": u.
"défend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "défendue" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV