Which to use
“défendait” and “défendit” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,265
- “défendait” frequency rank
- #42,841
- “défendit” frequency rank
- 62106
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendait | défendit |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de défendre. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de défendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendait and défendit
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. défendait runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVVC) against défendit's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between défendait and défendit
A purely visual mix-up. défendait (\de.fɑ̃.dɛ\) and défendit (\de.fɑ̃.di\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendait is recorded at frequency rank #19,265, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dɛ\. défendit is at rank #42,841, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.di\.
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 62106, this pair ranks #88,797 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défendait vs défendit
Shared letters: definté. Private to "défendait": a. Private to "défendit": -.
"défendait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "défendit" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendait" and "défendit" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "défendait" or "défendit"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défendait" and "défendit" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #88,797 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendait" and "défendit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defender vs défendit". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #88,797 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.