Which to use
“débâcle” and “décale” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,186
- “débâcle” frequency rank
- #34,506
- “décale” frequency rank
- 58692
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | débâcle | décale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rupture, ordinairement subite, de la glace qui couvrait un cours d’eau et qui se partage alors en glaçons dont la descente est plus ou moins rapide. | Sortie de l’école pour les vacances. |
Where the eye mixes débâcle and décale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses débâcle with décale
A purely visual mix-up. débâcle (\de.bɑkl\) and décale (\de.kal\) 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 58692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
débâcle is recorded at frequency rank #24,186, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.bɑkl\. décale is at rank #34,506, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.kal\.
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 58692, this pair ranks #107,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of débâcle vs décale
Shared letters: cdelé. Private to "débâcle": bâ. Private to "décale": a.
"débâcle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "décale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "débâcle" and "décale" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "débâcle" or "décale" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "débâcle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #107,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "débâcle" and "décale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décale vs décimale". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #107,509 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.