diresvsduréesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,949
“dires” frequency rank
#20,424
“durées” frequency rank
32373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dires durées
Definition Pluriel de dire. Pluriel de durée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set dires and durées apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
dires
6 ch
durées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. dires (\diʁ\) and durées (\dy.ʁe\) 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 32373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dires is recorded at frequency rank #11,949, classified as anoun, pronounced \diʁ\. durées is at rank #20,424, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dy.ʁe\.

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 32373, this pair ranks #297,725 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of dires vs durées

Shared letters: ders. Private to "dires": i. Private to "durées": .

"dires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "durées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • diresddires · diers · diress · dirres · dirse · dries · idres

Frequency comparison

dires#11,949
durées#20,424

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dires" and "durées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\diʁ\ versus \dy.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "dires" or "durées"?
"dires" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,949 in our French list, against #20,424 for "durées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering dires vs durées

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “dires” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list