Which to use
“défendent” and “défendons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,647
- “défendent” frequency rank
- #30,574
- “défendons” frequency rank
- 40221
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendent | défendons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de défendre. | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de défendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendent and défendons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. défendent and défendons follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: défendent vs défendons
A purely visual mix-up. défendent (\de.fɑ̃d\) and défendons (\de.fɑ̃.dɔ̃\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40221, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendent is recorded at frequency rank #9,647, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃d\. défendons is at rank #30,574, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dɔ̃\.
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 40221, this pair ranks #242,126 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défendent vs défendons
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défendent": t. Private to "défendons": os.
"défendent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "défendons" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défendent" for "défendons" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défendent" or "défendons" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #242,126 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendent" and "défendons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendons vs descendons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #242,126 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.