Which to use
“dépensés” and “dispensés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,333
- “dépensés” frequency rank
- #23,173
- “dispensés” frequency rank
- 52506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dépensés | dispensés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin pluriel de dépenser. | Participe passé masculin pluriel de dispenser. |
Where the eye mixes dépensés and dispensés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. dépensés runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against dispensés's 9 (CVCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses dépensés with dispensés
A purely visual mix-up. dépensés (\de.pɑ̃.se\) and dispensés (\dis.pɑ̃.se\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52506, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dépensés is recorded at frequency rank #29,333, classified as averb, pronounced \de.pɑ̃.se\. dispensés is at rank #23,173, tagged as averb, pronounced \dis.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 52506, this pair ranks #147,255 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of dépensés vs dispensés
Shared letters: denpsé. Private to "dépensés": -. Private to "dispensés": i.
"dépensés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "dispensés" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "dépensés" and "dispensés" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "dépensés" vs "dispensés" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "dépensés" and "dispensés" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "dépensés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dispensés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #147,255 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dépensés" and "dispensés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dépasses vs dépensés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #147,255 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.