Which to use
“décale” is a noun and “décalées” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,506
- “décale” frequency rank
- #41,747
- “décalées” frequency rank
- 76253
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décale | décalées |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sortie de l’école pour les vacances. | Participe passé féminin pluriel de décaler. |
Where the eye mixes décale and décalées
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décale runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against décalées's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décale with décalées
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décale is \de.kal\ while décalées 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décale is recorded at frequency rank #34,506, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.kal\. décalées is at rank #41,747, tagged as averb, 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 76253, this pair ranks #31,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décale vs décalées
Shared letters: acdelé. Private to "décale": -. Private to "décalées": s.
"décale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décalées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décale" and "décalées" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décale" vs "décalées" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décalées" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décale" and "décalées" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décalages vs décalées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,654 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.