Which to use
“désigne” is a verb and “désignées” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,935
- “désigne” frequency rank
- #24,564
- “désignées” frequency rank
- 29499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désigne | désignées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de désigner. | Féminin pluriel de désigné. |
Where the eye mixes désigne and désignées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. désigne runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against désignées's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: désigne vs désignées
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: désigne is \de.ziɲ\ while désignées is \de.zi.ɲe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 29499, 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\. désignées is at rank #24,564, 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 29499, this pair ranks #316,297 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of désigne vs désignées
Shared letters: deginsé. Private to "désigne": -. Private to "désignées": -.
"désigne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "désignées" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "désigne" and "désignées" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "désigne" or "désignées" 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 "désigne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désignées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #316,297 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désigne" and "désignées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désignées vs désirées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #316,297 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.