Which to use
“défendue” and “défendues” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,160
- “défendue” frequency rank
- #29,328
- “défendues” frequency rank
- 42488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendue | défendues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de défendu. | Féminin pluriel de défendu. |
Same sound, different letters: défendue vs défendues
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. défendue runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVV) against défendues's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - défendue and défendues
This is the hard kind. défendue and défendues are pronounced identically (\de.fɑ̃.dy\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “défendue” sits inside “défendues”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendue is recorded at frequency rank #13,160, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dy\. défendues is at rank #29,328, 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 42488, this pair ranks #225,232 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défendue vs défendues
Shared letters: defnué. Private to "défendue": -. Private to "défendues": s.
"défendue" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "défendues" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "défendue" and "défendues" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "défendue" or "défendues" show up more?
Useful next steps
"défendue" and "défendues" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défendues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,232 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendue" and "défendues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendues vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #225,232 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.