défendeurvsdéfendezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: défendeur is a noun, défendez is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“défendeur” is a noun and “défendez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,814
“défendeur” frequency rank
#29,738
“défendez” frequency rank
66552
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défendeur défendez
Definition Celui à qui on fait une demande en justice, la partie à laquelle le procès est intenté, par opposition au demandeur. Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de défendre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set défendeur and défendez apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
défendeur
8 ch
défendez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défendeur is \de.fɑ̃.dœʁ\ while défendez is \de.fɑ̃.de\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défendeur is recorded at frequency rank #36,814, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dœʁ\. défendez is at rank #29,738, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.de\.

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 66552, this pair ranks #67,306 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of défendeur vs défendez

Shared letters: defné. Private to "défendeur": ru. Private to "défendez": z.

"défendeur" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC  ·  "défendez" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

défendeur#36,814
défendez#29,738

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "défendeur" and "défendez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "défendeur" is a noun and "défendez" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "défendeur" or "défendez"?
"défendez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,738 in our French list, against #36,814 for "défendeur". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering défendeur vs défendez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “défendeur”; for a verb, it's “défendez”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “défendeur” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list