Which to use
“dessein” is a noun and “dessine” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,350
- “dessein” frequency rank
- #8,227
- “dessine” frequency rank
- 23577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dessein | dessine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Intention d’exécuter quelque chose, projet. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de dessiner. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dessein and dessine apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
dessein and dessine form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dessein is recorded at frequency rank #15,350, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.sɛ̃\. dessine is at rank #8,227, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.sin\.
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 23577, this pair ranks #351,685 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "dessein" and "dessine" be used interchangeably?
Remembering dessein vs dessine
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “dessein”; for a verb, it's “dessine”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dessein” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable