Which to use
“déterminer” is a verb and “déterminés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,671
- “déterminer” frequency rank
- #12,148
- “déterminés” frequency rank
- 14819
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déterminer | déterminés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Fixer les limites de, délimiter précisément. | Masculin pluriel de déterminé. |
Same sound, different letters: déterminer vs déterminés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters.
Homophone desk: déterminer vs déterminés
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: déterminer and déterminés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.tɛʁ.mi.ne\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14819, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déterminer is recorded at frequency rank #2,671, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tɛʁ.mi.ne\. déterminés is at rank #12,148, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tɛʁ.mi.ne\.
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 14819, this pair ranks #395,089 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of déterminer vs déterminés
Shared letters: deimnrté. Private to "déterminer": -. Private to "déterminés": s.
"déterminer" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC · "déterminés" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déterminer" for "déterminés" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "déterminer" or "déterminés" show up more?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "déterminer" / "déterminés". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "déterminer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déterminés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,089 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déterminer" and "déterminés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déterminera vs déterminés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #395,089 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.