Which to use
“décédés” and “décents” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,181
- “décédés” frequency rank
- #47,850
- “décents” frequency rank
- 66031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédés | décents |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de décédé. | Masculin pluriel de décent. |
Where the eye mixes décédés and décents
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décédés (CVCVCVC) and décents (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between décédés and décents
A purely visual mix-up. décédés (\de.se.de\) and décents (\de.sɑ̃\) 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 66031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décédés is recorded at frequency rank #18,181, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.se.de\. décents is at rank #47,850, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.sɑ̃\.
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 66031, this pair ranks #69,632 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décédés vs décents
Shared letters: cdsé. Private to "décédés": -. Private to "décents": ent.
"décédés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décents" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décédés" and "décents" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "décédés" or "décents" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "décédés" and "décents" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décents" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,632 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédés" and "décents" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décents vs démentis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #69,632 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.