Which to use
“détournent” and “détourner” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,583
- “détournent” frequency rank
- #8,842
- “détourner” frequency rank
- 39425
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détournent | détourner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de détourner. | Éloigner dans une autre direction. |
Where the eye mixes détournent and détourner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. détournent runs 10 letters (CVCVVCCVCC) against détourner's 9 (CVCVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: détournent vs détourner
A purely visual mix-up. détournent (\de.tuʁn\) and détourner (\de.tuʁ.ne\) 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 39425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détournent is recorded at frequency rank #30,583, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tuʁn\. 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 39425, this pair ranks #248,054 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of détournent vs détourner
Shared letters: denortué. Private to "détournent": -. Private to "détourner": -.
"détournent" · 10 letters · shape CVCVVCCVCC · "détourner" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "détournent" for "détourner" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "détournent" or "détourner" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "détournent" and "détourner" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "détournent" 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 #248,054 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détournent" and "détourner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détournées vs détournent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #248,054 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.