Which to use
“défendre” is a verb and “défendus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,660
- “défendre” frequency rank
- #27,784
- “défendus” frequency rank
- 29444
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendre | défendus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. | Masculin pluriel de défendu. |
Where the eye mixes défendre and défendus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défendre (CVCVCCCV) and défendus (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between défendre and défendus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défendre is \de.fɑ̃dʁ\ while défendus is \de.fɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29444, 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\. défendus is at rank #27,784, 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 29444, this pair ranks #316,622 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défendre vs défendus
Shared letters: defné. Private to "défendre": r. Private to "défendus": su.
"défendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "défendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendre" and "défendus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défendre" or "défendus" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défendre" and "défendus" 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 "défendus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #316,622 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendre" and "défendus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendus vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #316,622 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.