détruisvsdétruitesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#42,847
“détruis” frequency rank
#13,777
“détruites” frequency rank
56624
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détruis détruites
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de détruire. Participe passé féminin pluriel de détruire.

Where the eye mixes détruis and détruites

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. détruis runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against détruites's 9 (CVCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
détruis
9 ch
détruites

Look-alike desk: détruis vs détruites

A purely visual mix-up. détruis (\de.tʁɥi\) and détruites (\de.tʁɥit\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

détruis is recorded at frequency rank #42,847, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥi\. détruites is at rank #13,777, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥit\.

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 56624, this pair ranks #119,926 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détruis vs détruites

Shared letters: dirstué. Private to "détruis": -. Private to "détruites": e.

"détruis" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "détruites" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détruis" and "détruites" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.tʁɥi\ versus \de.tʁɥit\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "détruis" or "détruites"?
"détruites" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,777 in our French list, against #42,847 for "détruis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "détruis" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détruites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #119,926 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détruis" and "détruites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détruis vs détruise". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #119,926 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