détruisevsdétruitWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,909
“détruise” frequency rank
#2,875
“détruit” frequency rank
46784
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature détruise détruit
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de détruire. Participe passé masculin singulier de détruire.

Where the eye mixes détruise and détruit

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. détruise runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCV) against détruit's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
détruise
7 ch
détruit

Visual trap between détruise and détruit

A purely visual mix-up. détruise (\de.tʁɥiz\) and détruit (\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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46784, 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\. détruit is at rank #2,875, 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 46784, this pair ranks #192,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of détruise vs détruit

Shared letters: dirtué. Private to "détruise": es. Private to "détruit": -.

"détruise" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV  ·  "détruit" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "détruise" and "détruit" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.tʁɥiz\ versus \de.tʁɥi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "détruise" or "détruit"?
"détruit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,875 in our French list, against #43,909 for "détruise". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "détruise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "détruit" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #192,110 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "détruise" and "détruit" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "détruis vs détruise". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #192,110 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