décaléevsdégagéeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“décalée” and “dégagée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,289
“décalée” frequency rank
#16,602
“dégagée” frequency rank
41891
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décalée dégagée
Definition Féminin singulier de décalé. Féminin singulier de dégagé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décalée and dégagée apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
décalée
7 ch
dégagée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décalée (\de.ka.le\) and dégagée (\de.ɡa.ʒe\) 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 41891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décalée is recorded at frequency rank #25,289, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.ka.le\. dégagée is at rank #16,602, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.ɡa.ʒe\.

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 41891, this pair ranks #229,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décalée vs dégagée

Shared letters: adeé. Private to "décalée": cl. Private to "dégagée": g.

"décalée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "dégagée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

décalée#25,289
dégagée#16,602

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décalée" and "dégagée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.ka.le\ versus \de.ɡa.ʒe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décalée" or "dégagée"?
"dégagée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,602 in our French list, against #25,289 for "décalée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décalée vs dégagée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décalée” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list