Which to use
“détecte” and “déteste” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,821
- “détecte” frequency rank
- #2,363
- “déteste” frequency rank
- 22184
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détecte | déteste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détecter. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détester. |
Where the eye mixes détecte and déteste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détecte and déteste follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: détecte vs déteste
A purely visual mix-up. détecte (\de.tɛkt\) and déteste (\de.tɛst\) 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 a single letter - c in “détecte” becomes s in “déteste”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22184, 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\. déteste is at rank #2,363, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɛst\.
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 22184, this pair ranks #359,410 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of détecte vs déteste
Shared letters: deté. Private to "détecte": c. Private to "déteste": s.
"détecte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "déteste" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "détecte" and "déteste" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "détecte" or "déteste" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "détecte" and "déteste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "détecte" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déteste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,410 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détecte" and "déteste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détecte vs détestée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #359,410 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.