décalervsdécalésWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#25,977
“décaler” frequency rank
#34,507
“décalés” frequency rank
60484
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décaler décalés
Definition Enlever la cale à ; changer l’équilibre, l’aplomb. Masculin pluriel de décalé.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
décaler
7 ch
décalés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: décaler 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60484, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décaler is recorded at frequency rank #25,977, 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 60484, this pair ranks #97,346 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décaler vs décalés

Shared letters: acdlé. Private to "décaler": er. Private to "décalés": s.

"décaler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "décalés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décaler#25,977
décalés#34,507

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décaler" and "décalés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décaler" is a verb and "décalés" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décaler" or "décalés"?
"décaler" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,977 in our French list, against #34,507 for "décalés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décaler vs décalés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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