défendravsdéfendraiWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“défendra” and “défendrai” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#30,575
“défendra” frequency rank
#48,464
“défendrai” frequency rank
79039
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défendra défendrai
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du futur de défendre. Première personne du singulier du futur de défendre.

Where the eye mixes défendra and défendrai

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. défendra runs 8 letters (CVCVCCCV) against défendrai's 9 (CVCVCCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
défendra
9 ch
défendrai

Visual trap between défendra and défendrai

A purely visual mix-up. défendra (\de.fɑ̃.dʁa\) 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 differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “défendra” sits inside “défendrai”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 79039, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

défendra is recorded at frequency rank #30,575, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dʁa\. 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 79039, this pair ranks #24,205 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of défendra vs défendrai

Shared letters: adefnré. Private to "défendra": -. Private to "défendrai": i.

"défendra" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV  ·  "défendrai" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "défendra" and "défendrai" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.fɑ̃.dʁa\ versus \de.fɑ̃.dʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "défendra" vs "défendrai" - which ranks higher?
"défendra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,575 in our French list, against #48,464 for "défendrai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "défendra" and "défendrai" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "défendra" 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 #24,205 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "défendra" and "défendrai" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendra vs descendra". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #24,205 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list