Which to use
“désirais” and “désires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,255
- “désirais” frequency rank
- #37,301
- “désires” frequency rank
- 78556
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désirais | désires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de désirer. | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. |
Where the eye mixes désirais and désires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. désirais runs 8 letters (CVCVCVVC) against désires's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses désirais with désires
A purely visual mix-up. désirais (\de.zi.ʁɛ\) and désires (\de.ziʁ\) 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 78556, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désirais is recorded at frequency rank #41,255, classified as averb, pronounced \de.zi.ʁɛ\. désires is at rank #37,301, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ziʁ\.
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 78556, this pair ranks #25,441 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of désirais vs désires
Shared letters: dirsé. Private to "désirais": a. Private to "désires": e.
"désirais" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "désires" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désirais" for "désires" ever safe?
Frequency check: "désirais" vs "désires" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "désirais" and "désires" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "désirais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,441 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désirais" and "désires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désirais vs désirées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #25,441 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.