défendvsdevenuWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“défend” and “devenu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,750
“défend” frequency rank
#937
“devenu” frequency rank
4687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défend devenu
Definition Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de défendre. Participe passé du verbe devenir.

Where the eye mixes défend and devenu

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

6 ch
défend
6 ch
devenu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. défend (\de.fɑ̃\) and devenu (\də.və.ny\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4687, 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\. devenu is at rank #937, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.və.ny\.

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 4687, this pair ranks #430,953 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of défend vs devenu

Shared letters: den. Private to "défend": . Private to "devenu": uv.

"défend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "devenu" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • devenuddevenu · deevnu · devennu · deveun · devneu · devvenu · dveenu · edvenu

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "défend" and "devenu" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.fɑ̃\ versus \də.və.ny\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "défend" or "devenu"?
"devenu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #937 in our French list, against #3,750 for "défend". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list