Which to use
“décence” and “décennie” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,722
- “décence” frequency rank
- #6,813
- “décennie” frequency rank
- 25535
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décence | décennie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bienséance, ce qui est décent. | Période de dix ans. |
Where the eye mixes décence and décennie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décence runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against décennie's 8 (CVCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décence with décennie
A purely visual mix-up. décence (\de.sɑ̃s\) and décennie (\de.se.ni\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25535, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décence is recorded at frequency rank #18,722, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.sɑ̃s\. décennie is at rank #6,813, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.se.ni\.
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 25535, this pair ranks #340,326 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of décence vs décennie
Shared letters: cdené. Private to "décence": -. Private to "décennie": i.
"décence" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "décennie" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décence" for "décennie" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décence" or "décennie" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "décence" and "décennie" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décence" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décennie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #340,326 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décence" and "décennie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décence vs décents". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #340,326 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.