détectésvsdettesWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: détectés is a verb, dettes is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“détectés” is a verb and “dettes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,468
“détectés” frequency rank
#5,236
“dettes” frequency rank
36704
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détectés dettes
Definition Participe passé masculin pluriel de détecter. Pluriel de dette.

Where the eye mixes détectés and dettes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

8 ch
détectés
6 ch
dettes

Look-alike desk: détectés vs dettes

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détectés is \de.tɛk.te\ while dettes is \dɛt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36704, 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\. dettes is at rank #5,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɛt\.

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 36704, this pair ranks #267,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détectés vs dettes

Shared letters: dest. Private to "détectés": . Private to "dettes": -.

"détectés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "dettes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dettesddettes · detes · detets · dettess · dettse · dtetes · edttes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détectés" and "dettes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "détectés" is a verb and "dettes" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "détectés" vs "dettes" - which ranks higher?
"dettes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,236 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

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "détectés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "dettes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #267,700 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détectés" and "dettes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectés 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 #267,700 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