Which to use
“détendu” and “détendue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,527
- “détendu” frequency rank
- #27,419
- “détendue” frequency rank
- 46946
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détendu | détendue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Lâche, non tendu. | Féminin singulier de détendu. |
Same sound, different letters: détendu vs détendue
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 7 letters. détendu runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against détendue's 8 (CVCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - détendu / détendue
This is the hard kind. détendu and détendue are pronounced identically (\de.tɑ̃.dy\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “détendu” sits inside “détendue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détendu is recorded at frequency rank #19,527, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.tɑ̃.dy\. détendue is at rank #27,419, 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 46946, this pair ranks #190,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détendu vs détendue
Shared letters: dentué. Private to "détendu": -. Private to "détendue": -.
"détendu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "détendue" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "détendu" and "détendue" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "détendu" vs "détendue" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "détendu" / "détendue". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "détendu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détendue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #190,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détendu" and "détendue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détendue vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #190,815 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.