Which to use
“désirent” and “détient” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,775
- “désirent” frequency rank
- #7,432
- “détient” frequency rank
- 21207
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désirent | détient |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détenir. |
Where the eye mixes désirent and détient
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. désirent runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCC) against détient's 7 (CVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between désirent and détient
A purely visual mix-up. désirent (\de.ziʁ\) and détient (\de.tjɛ̃\) 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 21207, 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\. détient is at rank #7,432, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tjɛ̃\.
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 21207, this pair ranks #364,345 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of désirent vs détient
Shared letters: deinté. Private to "désirent": rs. Private to "détient": -.
"désirent" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "détient" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désirent" for "détient" ever safe?
Frequency check: "désirent" vs "détient" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "désirent" and "détient" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "désirent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détient" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #364,345 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désirent" and "détient" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décorent vs désirent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #364,345 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.