Which to use
“détruise” and “détruisent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,909
- “détruise” frequency rank
- #14,667
- “détruisent” frequency rank
- 58576
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | détruise | détruisent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de détruire. | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de détruire. |
Same sound, different letters: détruise vs détruisent
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. détruise runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against détruisent's 10 (CVCCVVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - détruise and détruisent
This is the hard kind. détruise and détruisent are pronounced identically (\de.tʁɥiz\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “détruise” sits inside “détruisent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58576, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
détruise is recorded at frequency rank #43,909, classified as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥiz\. détruisent is at rank #14,667, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.tʁɥiz\.
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 58576, this pair ranks #108,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of détruise vs détruisent
Shared letters: deirstué. Private to "détruise": -. Private to "détruisent": n.
"détruise" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV · "détruisent" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "détruise" for "détruisent" ever safe?
Which is more common, "détruise" or "détruisent"?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "détruise" / "détruisent". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "détruise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "détruisent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,257 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "détruise" and "détruisent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détruis vs détruise". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #108,257 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.