Which to use
“défenses” is a noun and “dépensés” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,569
- “défenses” frequency rank
- #29,333
- “dépensés” frequency rank
- 40902
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défenses | dépensés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de défense. | Participe passé masculin pluriel de dépenser. |
Where the eye mixes défenses and dépensés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défenses and dépensés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between défenses and dépensés
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: défenses is \de.fɑ̃s\ while dépensés is \de.pɑ̃.se\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défenses is recorded at frequency rank #11,569, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.fɑ̃s\. dépensés is at rank #29,333, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.se\.
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 40902, this pair ranks #237,037 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défenses vs dépensés
Shared letters: densé. Private to "défenses": f. Private to "dépensés": p.
"défenses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "dépensés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "défenses" and "dépensés" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "défenses" or "dépensés" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "défenses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépensés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,037 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défenses" and "dépensés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dépasses vs dépensés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #237,037 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.