Which to use
“décaler” and “démêler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,977
- “décaler” frequency rank
- #26,702
- “démêler” frequency rank
- 52679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décaler | démêler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enlever la cale à ; changer l’équilibre, l’aplomb. | Séparer une chose d’autres choses avec lesquelles elle est mêlée. |
Where the eye mixes décaler and démêler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décaler and démêler 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 démêler
A purely visual mix-up. décaler (\de.ka.le\) and démêler (\de.me.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 52679, 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\. démêler is at rank #26,702, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.me.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 52679, this pair ranks #146,017 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décaler vs démêler
Shared letters: delré. Private to "décaler": ac. Private to "démêler": mê.
"décaler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "démêler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décaler" for "démêler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "décaler" vs "démêler" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décaler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "démêler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,017 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décaler" and "démêler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs démêler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #146,017 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.