Which to use
“décèle” is a verb and “décente” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,127
- “décèle” frequency rank
- #29,734
- “décente” frequency rank
- 75861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décèle | décente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de déceler. | Féminin singulier de décent. |
Where the eye mixes décèle and décente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décèle runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against décente's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décèle with décente
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décèle is \de.sɛl\ while décente is \de.sɑ̃t\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décèle is recorded at frequency rank #46,127, classified as averb, pronounced \de.sɛl\. décente is at rank #29,734, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.sɑ̃t\.
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 75861, this pair ranks #32,804 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décèle vs décente
Shared letters: cdeé. Private to "décèle": lè. Private to "décente": nt.
"décèle" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décèle" and "décente" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "décèle" or "décente" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "décèle" and "décente" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décèle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,804 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décèle" and "décente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs dèche". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #32,804 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.