Which to use
“décédée” and “décente” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,992
- “décédée” frequency rank
- #29,734
- “décente” frequency rank
- 38726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédée | décente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de décédé. | Féminin singulier de décent. |
Where the eye mixes décédée and décente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décédée (CVCVCVV) and décente (CVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between décédée and décente
A purely visual mix-up. décédée (\de.se.de\) and décente (\de.sɑ̃t\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décédée is recorded at frequency rank #8,992, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.se.de\. décente is at rank #29,734, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.sɑ̃t\.
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 38726, this pair ranks #253,249 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décédée vs décente
Shared letters: cdeé. Private to "décédée": -. Private to "décente": nt.
"décédée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "décente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décédée" for "décente" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décédée" or "décente" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "décédée" and "décente" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #253,249 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédée" and "décente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décente vs décents". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #253,249 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.