détournévsdétournéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,560
“détourné” frequency rank
#23,192
“détournée” frequency rank
35752
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détourné détournée
Definition Se dit des endroits écartés ou des moyens de communication qui ne sont pas directs. Féminin singulier de détourné.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set détourné and détournée apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
détourné
9 ch
détournée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. détourné and détournée are pronounced identically (\de.tuʁ.ne\) 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) - “détourné” sits inside “détournée”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détourné is recorded at frequency rank #12,560, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.tuʁ.ne\. détournée is at rank #23,192, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.tuʁ.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 35752, this pair ranks #274,500 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détourné vs détournée

Shared letters: dnortué. Private to "détourné": -. Private to "détournée": e.

"détourné" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "détournée" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVV

Frequency comparison

détourné#12,560
détournée#23,192

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "détourné" and "détournée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\de.tuʁ.ne\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "détourné" or "détournée"?
"détourné" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,560 in our French list, against #23,192 for "détournée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering détourné vs détournée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “détourné” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list