Which to use
“décaler” and “désoler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,977
- “décaler” frequency rank
- #39,770
- “désoler” frequency rank
- 65747
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décaler | désoler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Enlever la cale à ; changer l’équilibre, l’aplomb. | Transformer en solitude une région, une ville, en y exerçant des ravages. |
Where the eye mixes décaler and désoler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: décaler vs désoler
A purely visual mix-up. décaler (\de.ka.le\) and désoler (\de.zɔ.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 65747, 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\. désoler is at rank #39,770, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.zɔ.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 65747, this pair ranks #70,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décaler vs désoler
Shared letters: delré. Private to "décaler": ac. Private to "désoler": os.
"décaler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "désoler" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décaler" for "désoler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "décaler" vs "désoler" - which ranks higher?
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 "désoler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,958 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décaler" and "désoler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dénouer vs désoler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #70,958 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.