Which to use
“défilent” and “désirent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,122
- “défilent” frequency rank
- #13,775
- “désirent” frequency rank
- 33897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | défilent | désirent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de défiler. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. |
Where the eye mixes défilent and désirent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. défilent and désirent follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: défilent vs désirent
A purely visual mix-up. défilent (\de.fil\) and désirent (\de.ziʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
défilent is recorded at frequency rank #20,122, classified as averb, pronounced \de.fil\. désirent is at rank #13,775, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ziʁ\.
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 33897, this pair ranks #287,535 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of défilent vs désirent
Shared letters: deinté. Private to "défilent": fl. Private to "désirent": rs.
"défilent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "désirent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "défilent" for "désirent" ever safe?
Which is more common, "défilent" or "désirent"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "défilent" and "désirent" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "défilent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désirent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,535 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "défilent" and "désirent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "défilement vs défilent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #287,535 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.