Which to use
“décalés” is an adjective and “dédale” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,507
- “décalés” frequency rank
- #30,989
- “dédale” frequency rank
- 65496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décalés | dédale |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de décalé. | Labyrinthe, lieu où l’on s’égare, où l’on se perd, à cause de la complication des détours. |
Where the eye mixes décalés and dédale
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décalés runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against dédale's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between décalés and dédale
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décalés is \de.ka.le\ while dédale is \de.dal\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décalés is recorded at frequency rank #34,507, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.ka.le\. dédale is at rank #30,989, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.dal\.
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 65496, this pair ranks #72,083 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décalés vs dédale
Shared letters: adlé. Private to "décalés": cs. Private to "dédale": e.
"décalés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dédale" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décalés" and "dédale" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "décalés" or "dédale" show up more?
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 "décalés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dédale" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,083 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décalés" and "dédale" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décalés vs décimales". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #72,083 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.