Which to use
“détendre” is a verb and “détenue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,538
- “détendre” frequency rank
- #15,613
- “détenue” frequency rank
- 24151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détendre | détenue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Relâcher ce qui était tendu. | Femme détenue. |
Where the eye mixes détendre and détenue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses détendre with détenue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détendre is \de.tɑ̃dʁ\ while détenue is \de.tə.ny\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 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 24151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détendre is recorded at frequency rank #8,538, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃dʁ\. détenue is at rank #15,613, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.tə.ny\.
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 24151, this pair ranks #348,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of détendre vs détenue
Shared letters: denté. Private to "détendre": r. Private to "détenue": u.
"détendre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCCV · "détenue" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détendre" and "détenue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "détendre" or "détenue"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "détendre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détenue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,281 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détendre" and "détenue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détendus vs détenue". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #348,281 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.