Which to use
“dépassée” is an adjective and “dépensée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #16,606
- “dépassée” frequency rank
- #43,400
- “dépensée” frequency rank
- 60006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépassée | dépensée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de dépassé. | Participe passé féminin singulier de dépenser. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dépassée and dépensée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dépassée is \de.pa.se\ while dépensée 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dépassée is recorded at frequency rank #16,606, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.pa.se\. dépensée is at rank #43,400, 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 60006, this pair ranks #99,981 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of dépassée vs dépensée
Shared letters: depsé. Private to "dépassée": a. Private to "dépensée": n.
"dépassée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "dépensée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dépassée" and "dépensée" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "dépassée" or "dépensée"?
Remembering dépassée vs dépensée
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “dépassée”; for a verb, it's “dépensée”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dépassée” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable