défendravsdéfendsConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,575
“défendra” frequency rank
#13,577
“défends” frequency rank
44152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature défendra défends
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du futur de défendre. Première personne de l’indicatif présent du verbe défendre.

Where the eye mixes défendra and défends

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défendra runs 8 letters (CVCVCCCV) against défends's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
défendra
7 ch
défends

Visual trap between défendra and défends

A purely visual mix-up. défendra (\de.fɑ̃.dʁa\) and défends (\de.fɑ̃\) 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 44152, 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\. défends is at rank #13,577, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃\.

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 44152, this pair ranks #212,646 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of défendra vs défends

Shared letters: defné. Private to "défendra": ar. Private to "défends": s.

"défendra" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV  ·  "défends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "défendra" and "défends" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.fɑ̃.dʁa\ versus \de.fɑ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "défendra" or "défends"?
"défends" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,577 in our French list, against #30,575 for "défendra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "défendra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "défends" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #212,646 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "défendra" and "défends" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendra vs défendrai". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #212,646 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