démentvsdentWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: dément is a adjective, dent is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“dément” is an adjective and “dent” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,364
“dément” frequency rank
#5,965
“dent” frequency rank
19329
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dément dent
Definition Qui est dans l’état de démence. Petit organe composé d’émail, de dentine et d’une pulpe, enchâssés dans la mâchoire, qui sert à inciser, à déchirer, à mâcher les aliments et à mordre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dément and dent apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
dément
4 ch
dent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dément is \de.mɑ̃\ while dent is \dɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19329, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dément is recorded at frequency rank #13,364, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.mɑ̃\. dent is at rank #5,965, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɑ̃\.

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 19329, this pair ranks #373,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dément vs dent

Shared letters: dent. Private to "dément": . Private to "dent": -.

"dément" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "dent" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dentddent · dennt · dentt · detn · dnet · ednt

Frequency comparison

dément#13,364
dent#5,965

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dément" and "dent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "dément" is an adjective and "dent" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "dément" or "dent"?
"dent" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,965 in our French list, against #13,364 for "dément". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dément vs dent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dément”; for a noun, it's “dent”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dément” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list