Which to use
“détendez” is a verb and “détendus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,797
- “détendez” frequency rank
- #49,621
- “détendus” frequency rank
- 82418
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détendez | détendus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de détendre. | Masculin pluriel de détendu. |
Where the eye mixes détendez and détendus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détendez and détendus follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses détendez with détendus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détendez is \de.tɑ̃.de\ while détendus is \de.tɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 82418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détendez is recorded at frequency rank #32,797, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃.de\. 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 82418, this pair ranks #16,789 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of détendez vs détendus
Shared letters: denté. Private to "détendez": z. Private to "détendus": su.
"détendez" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "détendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détendez" and "détendus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "détendez" vs "détendus" - which ranks higher?
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 "détendez" 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 #16,789 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détendez" and "détendus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #16,789 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.