Which to use
“décéder” and “décides” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,290
- “décéder” frequency rank
- #18,995
- “décides” frequency rank
- 56285
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décéder | décides |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mourir, en parlant des personnes. | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décider. |
Where the eye mixes décéder and décides
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décéder and décides follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses décéder with décides
A purely visual mix-up. décéder (\de.se.de\) and décides (\de.sid\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décéder is recorded at frequency rank #37,290, classified as averb, 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 56285, this pair ranks #122,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décéder vs décides
Shared letters: cdeé. Private to "décéder": r. Private to "décides": is.
"décéder" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décéder" for "décides" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décéder" 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 "décéder" 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 #122,052 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décéder" and "décides" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèdent vs décéder". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #122,052 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.