Which to use
“défendre” and “dépendra” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,660
- “défendre” frequency rank
- #15,864
- “dépendra” frequency rank
- 17524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendre | dépendra |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Protéger, soutenir, quelqu'un ou quelque chose contre une attaque, une agression. | Troisième personne du singulier du futur de dépendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendre and dépendra
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défendre and dépendra follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses défendre with dépendra
A purely visual mix-up. défendre (\de.fɑ̃dʁ\) and dépendra (\de.pɑ̃.dʁa\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17524, 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\. dépendra is at rank #15,864, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.dʁa\.
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 17524, this pair ranks #382,741 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of défendre vs dépendra
Shared letters: denré. Private to "défendre": f. Private to "dépendra": ap.
"défendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "dépendra" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendre" and "dépendra" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défendre" or "dépendra" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépendra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #382,741 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendre" and "dépendra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendrai vs dépendra". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #382,741 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.