Which to use
“détendus” and “détenu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,621
- “détendus” frequency rank
- #7,556
- “détenu” frequency rank
- 57177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détendus | détenu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de détendu. | Qui est en état de détention, qui est prisonnier. |
Where the eye mixes détendus and détenu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détendus runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against détenu's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between détendus and détenu
A purely visual mix-up. détendus (\de.tɑ̃.dy\) and détenu (\det.ny\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57177, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détendus is recorded at frequency rank #49,621, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.tɑ̃.dy\. détenu is at rank #7,556, tagged as anadj, pronounced \det.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 57177, this pair ranks #116,610 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détendus vs détenu
Shared letters: dentué. Private to "détendus": s. Private to "détenu": -.
"détendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "détenu" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détendus" and "détenu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "détendus" or "détenu" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "détendus" and "détenu" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "détendus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détenu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #116,610 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détendus" and "détenu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #116,610 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.