Which to use
“détecte” is a verb and “directe” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,821
- “détecte” frequency rank
- #3,067
- “directe” frequency rank
- 22888
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détecte | directe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détecter. | Féminin singulier de direct. |
Where the eye mixes détecte and directe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses détecte with directe
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détecte is \de.tɛkt\ while directe is \di.ʁɛkt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22888, 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\. directe is at rank #3,067, tagged as anadj, pronounced \di.ʁɛkt\.
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 22888, this pair ranks #355,555 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of détecte vs directe
Shared letters: cdet. Private to "détecte": é. Private to "directe": ir.
"détecte" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "directe" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- directe ← ddirecte · diercte · dircete · direccte · direcet · directte · diretce · dirrecte
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détecte" and "directe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "détecte" or "directe" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "détecte" and "directe" 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 "directe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #355,555 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détecte" and "directe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détecte vs détestée". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #355,555 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.