Which to use
“décédés” is an adjective and “décidez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,181
- “décédés” frequency rank
- #18,996
- “décidez” frequency rank
- 37177
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décédés | décidez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de décédé. | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de décider. |
Where the eye mixes décédés and décidez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décédés and décidez 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 décédés with décidez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décédés is \de.se.de\ while décidez is \de.si.de\. 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 37177, 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\. décidez is at rank #18,996, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.si.de\.
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 37177, this pair ranks #264,329 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décédés vs décidez
Shared letters: cdé. Private to "décédés": s. Private to "décidez": eiz.
"décédés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décidez" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décédés" and "décidez" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "décédés" or "décidez"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décédés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décidez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #264,329 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décédés" and "décidez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèdent vs décédés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #264,329 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.