Which to use
“det” and “dos” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,976
- “det” frequency rank
- #961
- “dos” frequency rank
- 35937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | det | dos |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mer. | Partie du corps humain située au-dessus du postérieur, depuis le cou jusqu’aux reins. |
Where the eye mixes det and dos
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between det and dos
A purely visual mix-up. det (\ˈdet\) and dos (\do\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
det is recorded at frequency rank #34,976, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈdet\. dos is at rank #961, tagged as anoun, pronounced \do\.
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 35937, this pair ranks #273,113 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of det vs dos
Shared letters: d. Private to "det": et. Private to "dos": os.
"det" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "dos" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "det" for "dos" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "det" or "dos" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "det" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #273,113 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "det" and "dos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "DCI vs det". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #273,113 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.