Which to use
“défend” is a verb and “défense” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,750
- “défend” frequency rank
- #897
- “défense” frequency rank
- 4647
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défend | défense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défendre. | Action de défendre, de se défendre. |
Where the eye mixes défend and défense
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défend is \de.fɑ̃\ while défense is \de.fɑ̃s\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4647, 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\. défense is at rank #897, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.fɑ̃s\.
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 4647, this pair ranks #431,060 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défend vs défense
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défend": -. Private to "défense": s.
"défend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "défense" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV