Which to use
“décalages” is a noun and “décalés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,716
- “décalages” frequency rank
- #34,507
- “décalés” frequency rank
- 81223
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décalages | décalés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de décalage. | Masculin pluriel de décalé. |
Where the eye mixes décalages and décalés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décalages runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVC) against décalés's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: décalages vs décalés
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décalages is \de.ka.laʒ\ while décalés is \de.ka.le\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 81223, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décalages is recorded at frequency rank #46,716, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ka.laʒ\. décalés is at rank #34,507, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.ka.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 81223, this pair ranks #19,225 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décalages vs décalés
Shared letters: acdlsé. Private to "décalages": eg. Private to "décalés": -.
"décalages" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC · "décalés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décalages" and "décalés" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "décalages" or "décalés" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décalages" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décalés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #19,225 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décalages" and "décalés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décalages vs décalées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #19,225 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.