Which to use
“défendus” and “détendus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,784
- “défendus” frequency rank
- #49,621
- “détendus” frequency rank
- 77405
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défendus | détendus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de défendu. | Masculin pluriel de détendu. |
Where the eye mixes défendus and détendus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. défendus and détendus follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between défendus and détendus
A purely visual mix-up. défendus (\de.fɑ̃.dy\) and détendus (\de.tɑ̃.dy\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - f in “défendus” becomes t in “détendus”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77405, 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\. 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 77405, this pair ranks #28,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of défendus vs détendus
Shared letters: densué. Private to "défendus": f. Private to "détendus": t.
"défendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "détendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défendus" for "détendus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "défendus" or "détendus"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défendus" 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 #28,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défendus" and "détendus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #28,465 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.