Which to use
“décédée” is an adjective and “décides” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,992
- “décédée” frequency rank
- #18,995
- “décides” frequency rank
- 27987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédée | décides |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de décédé. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décider. |
Where the eye mixes décédée and décides
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décédée (CVCVCVV) and décides (CVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses décédée with décides
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décédée is \de.se.de\ while décides is \de.sid\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27987, 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\. décides is at rank #18,995, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.sid\.
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 27987, this pair ranks #325,576 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décédée vs décides
Shared letters: cdeé. Private to "décédée": -. Private to "décides": is.
"décédée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "décides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décédée" for "décides" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décédée" or "décides" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décides" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #325,576 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédée" and "décides" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décides vs déçues". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #325,576 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.