Which to use
“détends” is a verb and “détenus” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #40,734
- “détends” frequency rank
- #6,500
- “détenus” frequency rank
- 47234
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détends | détenus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détendre. | Masculin pluriel de détenu. |
Where the eye mixes détends and détenus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détends (CVCVCCC) and détenus (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses détends with détenus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: détends is \de.tɑ̃\ while détenus is \de.tə.ny\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “détends” becomes u in “détenus”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47234, 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\. détenus is at rank #6,500, tagged as anadj, 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 47234, this pair ranks #188,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détends vs détenus
Shared letters: densté. Private to "détends": -. Private to "détenus": u.
"détends" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC · "détenus" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détends" and "détenus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "détends" vs "détenus" - which ranks higher?
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 "détends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détenus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détends" and "détenus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #188,482 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.