Which to use
“détends” is a verb and “détendu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,734
- “détends” frequency rank
- #19,527
- “détendu” frequency rank
- 60261
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détends | détendu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. | Lâche, non tendu. |
Where the eye mixes détends and détendu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: détends vs détendu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détends is \de.tɑ̃\ while détendu is \de.tɑ̃.dy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - s in “détends” becomes u in “détendu”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détends is recorded at frequency rank #40,734, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɑ̃\. détendu is at rank #19,527, 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 60261, this pair ranks #98,578 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of détends vs détendu
Shared letters: denté. Private to "détends": s. Private to "détendu": u.
"détends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "détendu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détends" and "détendu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "détends" or "détendu" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "détends" and "détendu" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "détends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détendu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #98,578 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détends" and "détendu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #98,578 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.