Which to use
“détectés” is a verb and “détenues” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,468
- “détectés” frequency rank
- #19,822
- “détenues” frequency rank
- 51290
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détectés | détenues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin pluriel de détecter. | Féminin pluriel de détenu. |
Where the eye mixes détectés and détenues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. détectés (CVCVCCVC) and détenues (CVCVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between détectés and détenues
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détectés is \de.tɛk.te\ while détenues is \de.tə.ny\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 51290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détectés is recorded at frequency rank #31,468, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɛk.te\. détenues is at rank #19,822, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tə.ny\.
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 51290, this pair ranks #156,159 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détectés vs détenues
Shared letters: desté. Private to "détectés": c. Private to "détenues": nu.
"détectés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "détenues" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détectés" and "détenues" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "détectés" or "détenues" show up more?
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 "détectés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détenues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,159 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détectés" and "détenues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectés vs détestée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #156,159 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.