Which to use
“détecte” is a verb and “détective” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,821
- “détecte” frequency rank
- #9,820
- “détective” frequency rank
- 29641
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détecte | détective |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détecter. | Agent de police employé à un service de recherches, dans les pays de langue anglaise. |
Where the eye mixes détecte and détective
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: détecte vs détective
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détecte is \de.tɛkt\ while détective is \de.tɛk.tiv\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29641, 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\. détective is at rank #9,820, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.tɛk.tiv\.
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 29641, this pair ranks #315,403 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détecte vs détective
Shared letters: cdeté. Private to "détecte": -. Private to "détective": iv.
"détecte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "détective" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "détecte" and "détective" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "détecte" or "détective" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "détective" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,403 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détecte" and "détective" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détecte vs détestée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #315,403 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.