Which to use
“défendait” and “défendrai” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,265
- “défendait” frequency rank
- #48,464
- “défendrai” frequency rank
- 67729
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendait | défendrai |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de défendre. | Première personne du singulier du futur de défendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendait and défendrai
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. défendait (CVCVCCVVC) and défendrai (CVCVCCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between défendait and défendrai
A purely visual mix-up. défendait (\de.fɑ̃.dɛ\) and défendrai (\de.fɑ̃.dʁe\) 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 67729, 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\. défendrai is at rank #48,464, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dʁe\.
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 67729, this pair ranks #62,152 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défendait vs défendrai
Shared letters: adefiné. Private to "défendait": t. Private to "défendrai": r.
"défendait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "défendrai" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendait" and "défendrai" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défendait" or "défendrai" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendrai" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,152 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendait" and "défendrai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendra vs défendrai". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #62,152 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.