désignésvsdésiréesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,571
“désignés” frequency rank
#46,732
“désirées” frequency rank
58303
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désignés désirées
Definition Masculin pluriel de désigné. Féminin pluriel de désiré.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désignés and désirées apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
désignés
8 ch
désirées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. désignés (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58303, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désignés is recorded at frequency rank #11,571, 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 58303, this pair ranks #109,857 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of désignés vs désirées

Shared letters: disé. Private to "désignés": gn. Private to "désirées": er.

"désignés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "désirées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

désignés#11,571
désirées#46,732

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désignés" 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, "désignés" or "désirées"?
"désignés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,571 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 désignés 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 “désignés” 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