Which to use
“décédé” is an adjective and “décidez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,068
- “décédé” frequency rank
- #18,996
- “décidez” frequency rank
- 23064
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédé | décidez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mort. Qui a cessé de vivre. | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de décider. |
Where the eye mixes décédé and décidez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décédé runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against décidez's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décédé with décidez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décédé is \de.se.de\ while décidez is \de.si.de\. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23064, 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\. décidez is at rank #18,996, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.si.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 23064, this pair ranks #354,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of décédé vs décidez
Shared letters: cdé. Private to "décédé": -. Private to "décidez": eiz.
"décédé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décidez" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décédé" and "décidez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "décédé" vs "décidez" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "décédé" and "décidez" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décidez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #354,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédé" and "décidez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décideur vs décidez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #354,579 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.