Which to use
“défendre” is a verb and “défendue” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,660
- “défendre” frequency rank
- #13,160
- “défendue” frequency rank
- 14820
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendre | défendue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. | Féminin singulier de défendu. |
Where the eye mixes défendre and défendue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. défendre (CVCVCCCV) and défendue (CVCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: défendre vs défendue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défendre is \de.fɑ̃dʁ\ while défendue is \de.fɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “défendre” becomes u in “défendue”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendre is recorded at frequency rank #1,660, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃dʁ\. défendue is at rank #13,160, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dy\.
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 14820, this pair ranks #395,084 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défendre vs défendue
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défendre": r. Private to "défendue": u.
"défendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "défendue" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendre" and "défendue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défendre" or "défendue" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défendre" and "défendue" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,084 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendre" and "défendue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendue vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #395,084 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.