Which to use
“décalage” and “décalages” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,427
- “décalage” frequency rank
- #46,716
- “décalages” frequency rank
- 54143
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décalage | décalages |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de décaler ou résultat de cette action. | Pluriel de décalage. |
Same sound, different letters: décalage vs décalages
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. décalage runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against décalages's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - décalage / décalages
This is the hard kind. décalage and décalages are pronounced identically (\de.ka.laʒ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “décalage” sits inside “décalages”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décalage is recorded at frequency rank #7,427, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ka.laʒ\. décalages is at rank #46,716, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ka.laʒ\.
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 54143, this pair ranks #135,978 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décalage vs décalages
Shared letters: acdeglé. Private to "décalage": -. Private to "décalages": s.
"décalage" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "décalages" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décalage" for "décalages" ever safe?
Which is more common, "décalage" or "décalages"?
After this comparison
"décalage" and "décalages" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "décalage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décalages" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #135,978 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décalage" and "décalages" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décalages vs décalées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #135,978 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.