Which to use
“défendaient” and “demandaient” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,813
- “défendaient” frequency rank
- #15,607
- “demandaient” frequency rank
- 52420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendaient | demandaient |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de défendre. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de demander. |
Where the eye mixes défendaient and demandaient
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses défendaient with demandaient
A purely visual mix-up. défendaient (\de.fɑ̃.dɛ\) and demandaient (\də.mɑ̃.dɛ\) 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 52420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendaient is recorded at frequency rank #36,813, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dɛ\. demandaient is at rank #15,607, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.mɑ̃.dɛ\.
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 52420, this pair ranks #147,847 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défendaient vs demandaient
Shared letters: adeint. Private to "défendaient": fé. Private to "demandaient": m.
"défendaient" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVVCC · "demandaient" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCCVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- demandaient ← ddemandaient · deamndaient · demadnaient · demanadient · demandaeint · demandaiennt · demandaientt · demandaietn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défendaient" and "demandaient" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "défendaient" or "demandaient" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendaient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "demandaient" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,847 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendaient" and "demandaient" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendaient vs descendaient". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #147,847 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.