Which to use
“déborder” and “décoder” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,720
- “déborder” frequency rank
- #33,230
- “décoder” frequency rank
- 51950
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déborder | décoder |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dépasser le bord, en parlant notamment des fleuves, des rivières, des étangs, de l’eau en général. | Déchiffrer ce qui est codé. |
Where the eye mixes déborder and décoder
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. déborder runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against décoder's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: déborder vs décoder
A purely visual mix-up. déborder (\de.bɔʁ.de\) and décoder (\de.kɔ.de\) 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 51950, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déborder is recorded at frequency rank #18,720, classified as averb, pronounced \de.bɔʁ.de\. décoder is at rank #33,230, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.de\.
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 51950, this pair ranks #151,245 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of déborder vs décoder
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "déborder": b. Private to "décoder": c.
"déborder" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "décoder" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "déborder" for "décoder" ever safe?
Which is more common, "déborder" or "décoder"?
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 "déborder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décoder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,245 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déborder" and "décoder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décocher vs décoder". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #151,245 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.