Which to use
“défendus” is an adjective and “défenses” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,784
- “défendus” frequency rank
- #11,569
- “défenses” frequency rank
- 39353
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendus | défenses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de défendu. | Pluriel de défense. |
Where the eye mixes défendus and défenses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défendus and défenses follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses défendus with défenses
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défendus is \de.fɑ̃.dy\ while défenses is \de.fɑ̃s\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39353, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défendus is recorded at frequency rank #27,784, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.fɑ̃.dy\. défenses is at rank #11,569, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.fɑ̃s\.
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 39353, this pair ranks #248,624 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défendus vs défenses
Shared letters: defnsé. Private to "défendus": u. Private to "défenses": -.
"défendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "défenses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défendus" for "défenses" ever safe?
Frequency check: "défendus" vs "défenses" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défendus" and "défenses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défenses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #248,624 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendus" and "défenses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défendus vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #248,624 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.