Which to use
“dépens” is a noun and “détends” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,312
- “dépens” frequency rank
- #40,734
- “détends” frequency rank
- 50046
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépens | détends |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ce qu’on dépense. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. |
Where the eye mixes dépens and détends
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. dépens runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against détends's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dépens with détends
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: dépens is \de.pɑ̃\ while détends is \de.tɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50046, 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\. détends is at rank #40,734, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃\.
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 50046, this pair ranks #165,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dépens vs détends
Shared letters: densé. Private to "dépens": p. Private to "détends": t.
"dépens" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "détends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dépens" and "détends" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "dépens" or "détends" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dépens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détends" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #165,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dépens" and "détends" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #165,714 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.