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. |
Same sound, different letters: décaler vs décalés
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. décaler and décalés follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Same sound, different spelling - décaler / décalés
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décaler" and "décalés" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décaler" vs "décalés" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "décaler" 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 #97,346 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décaler" and "décalés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décalés vs décimales". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #97,346 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.