décaléesvsdécalésWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décalées is a verb, décalés is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décalées” is a verb and “décalés” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#41,747
“décalées” frequency rank
#34,507
“décalés” frequency rank
76254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décalées décalés
Definition Participe passé féminin pluriel de décaler. Masculin pluriel de décalé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décalées and décalés apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
décalées
7 ch
décalés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: décalées and décalés carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.ka.le\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76254, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décalées is recorded at frequency rank #41,747, classified as averb, pronounced \de.ka.le\. 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 76254, this pair ranks #31,648 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décalées vs décalés

Shared letters: acdlsé. Private to "décalées": e. Private to "décalés": -.

"décalées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "décalés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décalées#41,747
décalés#34,507

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décalées" and "décalés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décalées" is a verb and "décalés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décalées" or "décalés"?
"décalés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,507 in our French list, against #41,747 for "décalées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décalées vs décalés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “décalées”; for an adjective, it's “décalés”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décalées” 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