Which to use
“détend” is a verb and “détendus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,607
- “détend” frequency rank
- #49,621
- “détendus” frequency rank
- 71228
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détend | détendus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. | Masculin pluriel de détendu. |
Where the eye mixes détend and détendus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détend runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against détendus's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: détend vs détendus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détend is \de.tɑ̃\ while détendus is \de.tɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “détend” sits inside “détendus”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71228, 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\. détendus is at rank #49,621, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tɑ̃.dy\.
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 71228, this pair ranks #48,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of détend vs détendus
Shared letters: denté. Private to "détend": -. Private to "détendus": su.
"détend" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "détendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "détend" for "détendus" ever safe?
Which is more common, "détend" or "détendus"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "détend" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détendus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,354 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détend" and "détendus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #48,354 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.