Which to use
“décédés” is an adjective and “décès” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,181
- “décédés” frequency rank
- #2,037
- “décès” frequency rank
- 20218
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédés | décès |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de décédé. | Mort naturelle d’une personne. |
Where the eye mixes décédés and décès
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décédés runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against décès's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between décédés and décès
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décédés is \de.se.de\ while décès is \de.sɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20218, 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\. décès is at rank #2,037, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.sɛ\.
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 20218, this pair ranks #369,388 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of décédés vs décès
Shared letters: cdsé. Private to "décédés": -. Private to "décès": è.
"décédés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décès" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décédés" and "décès" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "décédés" or "décès" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décès" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #369,388 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédés" and "décès" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèdent vs décédés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #369,388 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.