Which to use
“décédé” is an adjective and “décéder” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,068
- “décédé” frequency rank
- #37,290
- “décéder” frequency rank
- 41358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédé | décéder |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mort. Qui a cessé de vivre. | Mourir, en parlant des personnes. |
Same sound, different letters: décédé vs décéder
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. décédé runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against décéder's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - décédé and décéder
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: décédé and décéder carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.se.de\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41358, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décédé is recorded at frequency rank #4,068, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.se.de\. décéder is at rank #37,290, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.se.de\.
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 41358, this pair ranks #233,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décédé vs décéder
Shared letters: cdé. Private to "décédé": -. Private to "décéder": er.
"décédé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décéder" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décédé" and "décéder" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décédé" vs "décéder" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décéder" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #233,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédé" and "décéder" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèdent vs décéder". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #233,674 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.