détruirevsdétruitsTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,774
“détruire” frequency rank
#10,694
“détruits” frequency rank
13468
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détruire détruits
Definition Démolir, ruiner, en parlant d'un édifice, d'une construction. Participe passé masculin pluriel de détruire.

Where the eye mixes détruire and détruits

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
détruire
8 ch
détruits

Look-alike desk: détruire vs détruits

A purely visual mix-up. détruire (\de.tʁɥiʁ\) and détruits (\de.tʁɥi\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13468, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détruire is recorded at frequency rank #2,774, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥiʁ\. détruits is at rank #10,694, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥi\.

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 13468, this pair ranks #400,907 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of détruire vs détruits

Shared letters: dirtué. Private to "détruire": e. Private to "détruits": s.

"détruire" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "détruits" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détruire" and "détruits" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.tʁɥiʁ\ versus \de.tʁɥi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "détruire" or "détruits" show up more?
"détruire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,774 in our French list, against #10,694 for "détruits". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "détruire" and "détruits" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "détruire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détruits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #400,907 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détruire" and "détruits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détruise vs détruits". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #400,907 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