Which to use
“discute” and “disputes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,948
- “discute” frequency rank
- #14,449
- “disputes” frequency rank
- 21397
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | discute | disputes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Discussion, conversation. Surtout présent dans l'expression faire ou taper la discute. | Pluriel de dispute. |
Where the eye mixes discute and disputes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. discute runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against disputes's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between discute and disputes
A purely visual mix-up. discute (\dis.kyt\) and disputes (\dis.pyt\) 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 21397, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
discute is recorded at frequency rank #6,948, classified as anoun, pronounced \dis.kyt\. disputes is at rank #14,449, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dis.pyt\.
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 21397, this pair ranks #363,358 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of discute vs disputes
Shared letters: deistu. Private to "discute": c. Private to "disputes": p.
"discute" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "disputes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "discute" for "disputes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "discute" or "disputes"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "discute" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "disputes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #363,358 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "discute" and "disputes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "disputes vs dissoutes". 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 #363,358 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.