Which to use
“désires” and “désirons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,301
- “désires” frequency rank
- #38,774
- “désirons” frequency rank
- 76075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | désires | désirons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. | Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de désirer. |
Where the eye mixes désires and désirons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. désires runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against désirons's 8 (CVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between désires and désirons
A purely visual mix-up. désires (\de.ziʁ\) and désirons (\de.zi.ʁɔ̃\) 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 76075, 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\. désirons is at rank #38,774, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.zi.ʁɔ̃\.
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 76075, this pair ranks #32,162 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of désires vs désirons
Shared letters: dirsé. Private to "désires": e. Private to "désirons": no.
"désires" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "désirons" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "désires" for "désirons" ever safe?
Frequency check: "désires" vs "désirons" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "désires" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "désirons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,162 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "désires" and "désirons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "désirées vs désirons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #32,162 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.