Which to use
“défendons” and “descendons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,574
- “défendons” frequency rank
- #46,693
- “descendons” frequency rank
- 77267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendons | descendons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de défendre. | Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de descendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendons and descendons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. défendons runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCC) against descendons's 10 (CVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses défendons with descendons
A purely visual mix-up. défendons (\de.fɑ̃.dɔ̃\) and descendons (\dɛ.sɑ̃.dɔ̃\) 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 77267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendons is recorded at frequency rank #30,574, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dɔ̃\. descendons is at rank #46,693, tagged as averb, pronounced \dɛ.sɑ̃.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 77267, this pair ranks #28,887 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défendons vs descendons
Shared letters: denos. Private to "défendons": fé. Private to "descendons": c.
"défendons" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC · "descendons" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- descendons ← ddescendons · decsendons · desccendons · descednons · descenddons · descendnos · descendonns · descendonss
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défendons" and "descendons" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "défendons" or "descendons" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "défendons" and "descendons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "descendons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,887 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendons" and "descendons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descendons vs descendus". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #28,887 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.