dessinéesvsdestinéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“dessinées” and “destinées” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,122
“dessinées” frequency rank
#5,746
“destinées” frequency rank
20868
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dessinées destinées
Definition Féminin pluriel de dessiné. Féminin pluriel de destiné.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dessinées and destinées apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
dessinées
9 ch
destinées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dessinées (\de.si.ne\) and destinées (\dɛs.ti.ne\) 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 a single letter - s in “dessinées” becomes t in “destinées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dessinées is recorded at frequency rank #15,122, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.si.ne\. destinées is at rank #5,746, tagged as anadj, pronounced \dɛs.ti.ne\.

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 20868, this pair ranks #366,071 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of dessinées vs destinées

Shared letters: deinsé. Private to "dessinées": -. Private to "destinées": t.

"dessinées" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC  ·  "destinées" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

dessinées#15,122
destinées#5,746

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dessinées" and "destinées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.si.ne\ versus \dɛs.ti.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dessinées" or "destinées"?
"destinées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,746 in our French list, against #15,122 for "dessinées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dessinées vs destinées

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dessinées” 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