dépens vs dépense, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“dépens” and “dépense” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,312
“dépens” frequency rank: #4,855
“dépense” frequency rank: 14167
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	dépens	dépense
Definition	Ce qu’on dépense.	L’argent qu’on emploie à quelque chose que ce puisse être.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dépens and dépense apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

dépens

7 ch

dépense

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dépens (\de.pɑ̃\) and dépense (\de.pɑ̃s\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “dépens” sits inside “dépense”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14167, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dépens is recorded at frequency rank #9,312, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.pɑ̃\. dépense is at rank #4,855, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.pɑ̃s\.

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 14167, this pair ranks #397,879 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dépens vs dépense

Shared letters: denpsé. Private to "dépens": -. Private to "dépense": -.

"dépens" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "dépense" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Frequency comparison

dépens#9,312

dépense#4,855

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dépens" and "dépense" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.pɑ̃\ versus \de.pɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "dépens" or "dépense"?

"dépense" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,855 in our French list, against #9,312 for "dépens". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dépens vs dépense

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dépens” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable