Which to use
“défendus” is an adjective and “détends” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,784
- “défendus” frequency rank
- #40,734
- “détends” frequency rank
- 68518
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendus | détends |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de défendu. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. |
Where the eye mixes défendus and détends
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défendus runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against détends's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between défendus and détends
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défendus is \de.fɑ̃.dy\ while détends is \de.tɑ̃\. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68518, 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\. détends is at rank #40,734, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃\.
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 68518, this pair ranks #58,854 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défendus vs détends
Shared letters: densé. Private to "défendus": fu. Private to "détends": t.
"défendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "détends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défendus" for "détends" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "défendus" or "détends" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défendus" and "détends" 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 "détends" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,854 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendus" and "détends" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #58,854 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.