détectéevsdétectentConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#26,342
“détectée” frequency rank
#45,003
“détectent” frequency rank
71345
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détectée détectent
Definition Participe passé féminin singulier de détecter. Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de détecter.

Where the eye mixes détectée and détectent

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. détectée runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVV) against détectent's 9 (CVCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
détectée
9 ch
détectent

Look-alike desk: détectée vs détectent

A purely visual mix-up. détectée (\de.tɛk.te\) and détectent (\de.tɛkt\) 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 71345, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détectée is recorded at frequency rank #26,342, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɛk.te\. détectent is at rank #45,003, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɛkt\.

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 71345, this pair ranks #47,874 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of détectée vs détectent

Shared letters: cdeté. Private to "détectée": -. Private to "détectent": n.

"détectée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV  ·  "détectent" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "détectée" for "détectent" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\de.tɛk.te\ versus \de.tɛkt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "détectée" or "détectent"?
"détectée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,342 in our French list, against #45,003 for "détectent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "détectée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détectent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #47,874 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détectée" and "détectent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectées vs détectent". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #47,874 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