détectésvsdétestesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#31,468
“détectés” frequency rank
#26,343
“détestes” frequency rank
57811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détectés détestes
Definition Participe passé masculin pluriel de détecter. Deuxième personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de détester.

Where the eye mixes détectés and détestes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détectés and détestes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
détectés
8 ch
détestes

Why the eye confuses détectés with détestes

A purely visual mix-up. détectés (\de.tɛk.te\) and détestes (\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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57811, 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\. détestes is at rank #26,343, 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 57811, this pair ranks #112,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détectés vs détestes

Shared letters: desté. Private to "détectés": c. Private to "détestes": -.

"détectés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "détestes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "détectés" and "détestes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.tɛk.te\ versus \de.tɛst\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "détectés" vs "détestes" - which ranks higher?
"détestes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,343 in our French list, against #31,468 for "détectés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "détestes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #112,819 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détectés" and "détestes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectés vs détestée". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #112,819 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