Which to use
“détournée” is an adjective and “détourner” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,192
- “détournée” frequency rank
- #8,842
- “détourner” frequency rank
- 32034
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détournée | détourner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de détourné. | Éloigner dans une autre direction. |
Same sound, different letters: détournée vs détourner
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. détournée (CVCVVCCVV) and détourner (CVCVVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Homophone desk: détournée vs détourner
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: détournée and détourner carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.tuʁ.ne\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, 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 32034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détournée is recorded at frequency rank #23,192, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.tuʁ.ne\. détourner is at rank #8,842, tagged as averb, 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 32034, this pair ranks #299,974 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détournée vs détourner
Shared letters: denortué. Private to "détournée": -. Private to "détourner": -.
"détournée" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVV · "détourner" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "détournée" and "détourner" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "détournée" or "détourner"?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "détournée" / "détourner". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "détournée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détourner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #299,974 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détournée" and "détourner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détournée vs détournées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #299,974 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.