décapitéevsdécapiterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décapitée is a noun, décapiter is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décapitée” is a noun and “décapiter” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,297
“décapitée” frequency rank
#31,456
“décapiter” frequency rank
78753
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décapitée décapiter
Definition Celle qui a subi le supplice de la décapitation. Trancher la tête à une personne avec une épée, une hache (sur le billot), ou au moyen de la guillotine.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décapitée and décapiter apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
décapitée
9 ch
décapiter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: décapitée and décapiter carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.ka.pi.te\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, 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 78753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décapitée is recorded at frequency rank #47,297, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ka.pi.te\. décapiter is at rank #31,456, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ka.pi.te\.

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 78753, this pair ranks #24,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décapitée vs décapiter

Shared letters: acdeipté. Private to "décapitée": -. Private to "décapiter": r.

"décapitée" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV  ·  "décapiter" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décapitée#47,297
décapiter#31,456

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décapitée" and "décapiter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décapitée" is a noun and "décapiter" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décapitée" or "décapiter"?
"décapiter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,456 in our French list, against #47,297 for "décapitée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décapitée vs décapiter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “décapitée”; for a verb, it's “décapiter”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décapitée” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list