duchésvsduréesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,757
“duchés” frequency rank
#20,424
“durées” frequency rank
60181
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature duchés durées
Definition Pluriel de duché. Pluriel de durée.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
duchés
6 ch
durées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. duchés (\dy.ʃe\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

duchés is recorded at frequency rank #39,757, classified as anoun, pronounced \dy.ʃe\. 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 60181, this pair ranks #99,021 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of duchés vs durées

Shared letters: dsué. Private to "duchés": ch. Private to "durées": er.

"duchés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "durées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequency comparison

duchés#39,757
durées#20,424

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "duchés" and "durées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\dy.ʃe\ versus \dy.ʁe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "duchés" or "durées"?
"durées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,424 in our French list, against #39,757 for "duchés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering duchés 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 “duchés” 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