détendusvsdétenusTell them apart

Which to use

“détendus” and “détenus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,621
“détendus” frequency rank
#6,500
“détenus” frequency rank
56121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détendus détenus
Definition Masculin pluriel de détendu. Masculin pluriel de détenu.

Where the eye mixes détendus and détenus

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. détendus runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against détenus's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
détendus
7 ch
détenus

Look-alike desk: détendus vs détenus

A purely visual mix-up. détendus (\de.tɑ̃.dy\) and détenus (\de.tə.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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56121, 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\. 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 56121, this pair ranks #123,132 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détendus vs détenus

Shared letters: denstué. Private to "détendus": -. Private to "détenus": -.

"détendus" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "détenus" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détendus" and "détenus" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.tɑ̃.dy\ versus \de.tə.ny\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "détendus" vs "détenus" - which ranks higher?
"détenus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,500 in our French list, against #49,621 for "détendus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "détendus" and "détenus" 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 "détenus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #123,132 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détendus" and "détenus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détends vs détendus". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #123,132 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list