Which to use
“dépends” is a verb and “dépens” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,416
- “dépends” frequency rank
- #9,312
- “dépens” frequency rank
- 36728
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépends | dépens |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de dépendre. | Ce qu’on dépense. |
Same sound, different letters: dépends vs dépens
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. dépends runs 7 letters (CVCVCCC) against dépens's 6 (CVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - dépends / dépens
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: dépends and dépens carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.pɑ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dépends is recorded at frequency rank #27,416, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃\. dépens is at rank #9,312, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.pɑ̃\.
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 36728, this pair ranks #267,536 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dépends vs dépens
Shared letters: denpsé. Private to "dépends": -. Private to "dépens": -.
"dépends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "dépens" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dépends" for "dépens" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dépends" vs "dépens" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "dépends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dépens" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #267,536 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dépends" and "dépens" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dépends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #267,536 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.