Which to use
“désigne” is a verb and “désignée” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,935
- “désigne” frequency rank
- #12,957
- “désignée” frequency rank
- 17892
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désigne | désignée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de désigner. | Féminin singulier de désigné. |
Where the eye mixes désigne and désignée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. désigne runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against désignée's 8 (CVCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between désigne and désignée
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: désigne is \de.ziɲ\ while désignée is \de.zi.ɲe\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désigne is recorded at frequency rank #4,935, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ziɲ\. désignée is at rank #12,957, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.zi.ɲe\.
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 17892, this pair ranks #380,947 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of désigne vs désignée
Shared letters: deginsé. Private to "désigne": -. Private to "désignée": -.
"désigne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "désignée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désigne" for "désignée" ever safe?
Frequency check: "désigne" vs "désignée" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "désigne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désignée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,947 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désigne" and "désignée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désigna vs désignée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #380,947 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.