désirentvsdésirsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: désirent is a verb, désirs is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“désirent” is a verb and “désirs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,775
“désirent” frequency rank
#7,819
“désirs” frequency rank
21594
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature désirent désirs
Definition Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. Pluriel de désir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set désirent and désirs apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
désirent
6 ch
désirs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: désirent and désirs carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.ziʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21594, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

désirent is recorded at frequency rank #13,775, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ziʁ\. désirs is at rank #7,819, tagged as anoun, 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 21594, this pair ranks #362,366 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of désirent vs désirs

Shared letters: dirsé. Private to "désirent": ent. Private to "désirs": -.

"désirent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC  ·  "désirs" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Frequency comparison

désirent#13,775
désirs#7,819

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "désirent" and "désirs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "désirent" is a verb and "désirs" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "désirent" or "désirs"?
"désirs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,819 in our French list, against #13,775 for "désirent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering désirent vs désirs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “désirent”; for a noun, it's “désirs”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “désirent” 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