Which to use
“dettes” and “doutes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,236
- “dettes” frequency rank
- #4,748
- “doutes” frequency rank
- 9984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | dettes | doutes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de dette. | Pluriel de doute. |
Where the eye mixes dettes and doutes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between dettes and doutes
A purely visual mix-up. dettes (\dɛt\) and doutes (\dut\) 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 9984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
dettes is recorded at frequency rank #5,236, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɛt\. doutes is at rank #4,748, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dut\.
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 9984, this pair ranks #414,669 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of dettes vs doutes
Shared letters: dest. Private to "dettes": -. Private to "doutes": ou.
"dettes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "doutes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "dettes" for "doutes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "dettes" vs "doutes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "dettes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "doutes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #414,669 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "dettes" and "doutes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déçues vs dettes". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #414,669 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.