détectevsdétectéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,821
“détecte” frequency rank
#39,276
“détectées” frequency rank
59097
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes détecte and détectées

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. détecte runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against détectées's 9 (CVCVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
détecte
9 ch
détectées

Visual trap between détecte and détectées

A purely visual mix-up. détecte (\de.tɛkt\) and détectées (\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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59097, 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\. détectées is at rank #39,276, 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 59097, this pair ranks #105,091 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of détecte vs détectées

Shared letters: cdeté. Private to "détecte": -. Private to "détectées": s.

"détecte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "détectées" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détecte" and "détectées" mean the same thing in a sentence?
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 "détectées" - which ranks higher?
"détecte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,821 in our French list, against #39,276 for "détectées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "détecte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détectées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #105,091 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détecte" and "détectées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectées vs détestée". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #105,091 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