détachevsdétacherConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,665
“détache” frequency rank
#13,369
“détacher” frequency rank
28034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détache détacher
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détacher. Débarrasser d’une tache, de taches.

Where the eye mixes détache and détacher

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. détache runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against détacher's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
détache
8 ch
détacher

Visual trap between détache and détacher

A purely visual mix-up. détache (\de.taʃ\) and détacher (\de.ta.ʃe\) 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 extra letter(s) - “détache” sits inside “détacher”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détache is recorded at frequency rank #14,665, classified as averb, pronounced \de.taʃ\. détacher is at rank #13,369, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ta.ʃe\.

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 28034, this pair ranks #325,294 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détache vs détacher

Shared letters: acdehté. Private to "détache": -. Private to "détacher": r.

"détache" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "détacher" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détache" and "détacher" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.taʃ\ versus \de.ta.ʃe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "détache" or "détacher"?
"détacher" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,369 in our French list, against #14,665 for "détache". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "détache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détacher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #325,294 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détache" and "détacher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dèche vs détache". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #325,294 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list