Which to use
“détend” and “détends” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,607
- “détend” frequency rank
- #40,734
- “détends” frequency rank
- 62341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détend | détends |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. |
Same sound, different letters: détend vs détends
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters. détend runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against détends's 7 (CVCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - détend and détends
This is the hard kind. détend and détends are pronounced identically (\de.tɑ̃\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “détend” sits inside “détends”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détend is recorded at frequency rank #21,607, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃\. détends is at rank #40,734, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃\.
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 62341, this pair ranks #87,656 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of détend vs détends
Shared letters: denté. Private to "détend": -. Private to "détends": s.
"détend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "détends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détend" and "détends" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "détend" vs "détends" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "détend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détends" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,656 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détend" and "détends" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #87,656 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.