détectevsdétectéeTell them apart

Which to use

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

#19,821
“détecte” frequency rank
#26,342
“détectée” frequency rank
46163
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détecte détectée
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détecter. Participe passé féminin singulier de détecter.

Where the eye mixes détecte and détectée

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

7 ch
détecte
8 ch
détectée

Look-alike desk: détecte vs détectée

A purely visual mix-up. détecte (\de.tɛkt\) and détectée (\de.tɛk.te\) 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 46163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détecte is recorded at frequency rank #19,821, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɛkt\. détectée is at rank #26,342, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɛk.te\.

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 46163, this pair ranks #197,099 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détecte vs détectée

Shared letters: cdeté. Private to "détecte": -. Private to "détectée": -.

"détecte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "détectée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "détecte" and "détectée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.tɛkt\ versus \de.tɛk.te\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "détecte" vs "détectée" - which ranks higher?
"détecte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,821 in our French list, against #26,342 for "détectée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "détecte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détectée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #197,099 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détecte" and "détectée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectée vs détestée". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #197,099 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