Which to use
“déballer” and “décoller” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,904
- “déballer” frequency rank
- #12,771
- “décoller” frequency rank
- 48675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déballer | décoller |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Extraire d’une balle, d’un paquet, d’une caisse, etc., ce qu’ils contiennent. | Séparer, détacher une chose qui était collée. |
Where the eye mixes déballer and décoller
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. déballer and décoller follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between déballer and décoller
A purely visual mix-up. déballer (\de.ba.le\) and décoller (\de.kɔ.le\) 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 48675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déballer is recorded at frequency rank #35,904, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ba.le\. décoller is at rank #12,771, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.le\.
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 48675, this pair ranks #176,910 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déballer vs décoller
Shared letters: delré. Private to "déballer": ab. Private to "décoller": co.
"déballer" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "décoller" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déballer" for "décoller" ever safe?
Which is more common, "déballer" or "décoller"?
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 "déballer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décoller" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,910 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déballer" and "décoller" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déballer vs dérailler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #176,910 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.