Which to use
“défends” is a verb and “détendus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,577
- “défends” frequency rank
- #49,621
- “détendus” frequency rank
- 63198
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défends | détendus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne de l’indicatif présent du verbe défendre. | Masculin pluriel de détendu. |
Where the eye mixes défends and détendus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défends runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against détendus's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: défends vs détendus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défends is \de.fɑ̃\ while détendus is \de.tɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défends is recorded at frequency rank #13,577, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fɑ̃\. détendus is at rank #49,621, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tɑ̃.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 63198, this pair ranks #83,268 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défends vs détendus
Shared letters: densé. Private to "défends": f. Private to "détendus": tu.
"défends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "détendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défends" and "détendus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défends" or "détendus" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détendus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #83,268 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défends" and "détendus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #83,268 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.