Which to use
“décaler” and “défiler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,977
- “décaler” frequency rank
- #12,365
- “défiler” frequency rank
- 38342
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décaler | défiler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enlever la cale à ; changer l’équilibre, l’aplomb. | Détacher une chose du fil du cordon où elle était passée. |
Where the eye mixes décaler and défiler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décaler and défiler follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses décaler with défiler
A purely visual mix-up. décaler (\de.ka.le\) and défiler (\de.fi.le\) 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 38342, 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\. défiler is at rank #12,365, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.fi.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 38342, this pair ranks #255,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décaler vs défiler
Shared letters: delré. Private to "décaler": ac. Private to "défiler": fi.
"décaler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "défiler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décaler" and "défiler" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "décaler" or "défiler" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décaler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "défiler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,905 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décaler" and "défiler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décaler vs décèle". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #255,905 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.