désignéesvsdésiréesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#24,564
“désignées” frequency rank
#46,732
“désirées” frequency rank
71296
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désignées désirées
Definition Féminin pluriel de désigné. Féminin pluriel de désiré.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désignées and désirées apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
désignées
8 ch
désirées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. désignées (\de.zi.ɲe\) and désirées (\de.zi.ʁe\) 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 71296, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désignées is recorded at frequency rank #24,564, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.zi.ɲe\. désirées is at rank #46,732, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.zi.ʁe\.

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 71296, this pair ranks #48,067 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of désignées vs désirées

Shared letters: deisé. Private to "désignées": gn. Private to "désirées": r.

"désignées" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC  ·  "désirées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

désignées#24,564
désirées#46,732

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désignées" and "désirées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.zi.ɲe\ versus \de.zi.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "désignées" or "désirées"?
"désignées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,564 in our French list, against #46,732 for "désirées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering désignées vs désirées

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 “désignées” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list