Which to use
“désires” is a verb and “désireuse” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,301
- “désires” frequency rank
- #38,773
- “désireuse” frequency rank
- 76074
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désires | désireuse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. | Féminin singulier de désireux. |
Where the eye mixes désires and désireuse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. désires runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against désireuse's 9 (CVCVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses désires with désireuse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: désires is \de.ziʁ\ while désireuse is \de.zi.ʁøz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76074, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
désires is recorded at frequency rank #37,301, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ziʁ\. désireuse is at rank #38,773, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.zi.ʁøz\.
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 76074, this pair ranks #32,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of désires vs désireuse
Shared letters: deirsé. Private to "désires": -. Private to "désireuse": u.
"désires" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "désireuse" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désires" for "désireuse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "désires" vs "désireuse" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "désires" and "désireuse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "désires" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désireuse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,163 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désires" and "désireuse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désirées vs désireuse". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #32,163 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.