Which to use
“décalage” and “décodage” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,427
- “décalage” frequency rank
- #44,430
- “décodage” frequency rank
- 51857
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décalage | décodage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de décaler ou résultat de cette action. | Action de décoder ou son résultat. |
Where the eye mixes décalage and décodage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décalage and décodage follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses décalage with décodage
A purely visual mix-up. décalage (\de.ka.laʒ\) and décodage (\de.kɔ.daʒ\) 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 51857, 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\. décodage is at rank #44,430, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.kɔ.daʒ\.
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 51857, this pair ranks #151,918 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décalage vs décodage
Shared letters: acdegé. Private to "décalage": l. Private to "décodage": o.
"décalage" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "décodage" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décalage" and "décodage" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "décalage" or "décodage"?
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 "décalage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décodage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,918 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décalage" and "décodage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décodage vs découragé". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #151,918 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.