Which to use
“défendit” and “dépendait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,841
- “défendit” frequency rank
- #17,415
- “dépendait” frequency rank
- 60256
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendit | dépendait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de défendre. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de dépendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendit and dépendait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. défendit runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against dépendait's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses défendit with dépendait
A purely visual mix-up. défendit (\de.fɑ̃.di\) and dépendait (\de.pɑ̃.dɛ\) 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 60256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendit is recorded at frequency rank #42,841, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.di\. dépendait is at rank #17,415, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.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 60256, this pair ranks #98,611 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défendit vs dépendait
Shared letters: deinté. Private to "défendit": f. Private to "dépendait": ap.
"défendit" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "dépendait" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendit" and "dépendait" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "défendit" vs "dépendait" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendit" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépendait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,611 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendit" and "dépendait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "defender vs défendit". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #98,611 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.