Which to use
“décalage” and “dérapage” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,427
- “décalage” frequency rank
- #21,606
- “dérapage” frequency rank
- 29033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décalage | dérapage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de décaler ou résultat de cette action. | Action de déraper ; résultat de cette action. |
Where the eye mixes décalage and dérapage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décalage and dérapage follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between décalage and dérapage
A purely visual mix-up. décalage (\de.ka.laʒ\) and dérapage (\de.ʁa.paʒ\) 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 29033, 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\. dérapage is at rank #21,606, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.ʁa.paʒ\.
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 29033, this pair ranks #319,150 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décalage vs dérapage
Shared letters: adegé. Private to "décalage": cl. Private to "dérapage": pr.
"décalage" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "dérapage" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décalage" for "dérapage" ever safe?
Which is more common, "décalage" or "dérapage"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décalage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérapage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,150 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décalage" and "dérapage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décalage vs declare". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #319,150 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.