Which to use
“détective” is a noun and “détectives” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,820
- “détective” frequency rank
- #29,751
- “détectives” frequency rank
- 39571
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détective | détectives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Agent de police employé à un service de recherches, dans les pays de langue anglaise. | Féminin pluriel de détectif. |
Same sound, different letters: détective vs détectives
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 9 letters. détective runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVCV) against détectives's 10 (CVCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - détective and détectives
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: détective and détectives carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.tɛk.tiv\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “détective” sits inside “détectives”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39571, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détective is recorded at frequency rank #9,820, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.tɛk.tiv\. détectives is at rank #29,751, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tɛk.tiv\.
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 39571, this pair ranks #246,977 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détective vs détectives
Shared letters: cdeitvé. Private to "détective": -. Private to "détectives": s.
"détective" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV · "détectives" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détective" and "détectives" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "détective" vs "détectives" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "détective" / "détectives". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "détective" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détectives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,977 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détective" and "détectives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détectées vs détectives". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #246,977 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.