Which to use
“déménagent” and “détenaient” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,778
- “déménagent” frequency rank
- #46,733
- “détenaient” frequency rank
- 84511
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déménagent | détenaient |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif du verbe déménager. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de détenir. |
Where the eye mixes déménagent and détenaient
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. déménagent (CVCVCVCVCC) and détenaient (CVCVCVVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: déménagent vs détenaient
A purely visual mix-up. déménagent (\de.me.naʒ\) and détenaient (\de.tə.nɛ\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84511, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déménagent is recorded at frequency rank #37,778, classified as averb, pronounced \de.me.naʒ\. détenaient is at rank #46,733, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tə.nɛ\.
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 84511, this pair ranks #12,879 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déménagent vs détenaient
Shared letters: adenté. Private to "déménagent": gm. Private to "détenaient": i.
"déménagent" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCC · "détenaient" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "déménagent" and "détenaient" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "déménagent" or "détenaient" 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 "déménagent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détenaient" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #12,879 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déménagent" and "détenaient" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dépendaient vs détenaient". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #12,879 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.