Which to use
“décence” and “déclenche” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,722
- “décence” frequency rank
- #11,205
- “déclenche” frequency rank
- 29927
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décence | déclenche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bienséance, ce qui est décent. | Appareil qui sert à séparer deux pièces d’une machine. |
Where the eye mixes décence and déclenche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. décence runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against déclenche's 9 (CVCCVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between décence and déclenche
A purely visual mix-up. décence (\de.sɑ̃s\) and déclenche (\de.klɑ̃ʃ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29927, 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\. déclenche is at rank #11,205, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.klɑ̃ʃ\.
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 29927, this pair ranks #313,608 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décence vs déclenche
Shared letters: cdené. Private to "décence": -. Private to "déclenche": hl.
"décence" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "déclenche" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décence" for "déclenche" ever safe?
Which is more common, "décence" or "déclenche"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "décence" and "déclenche" 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 "déclenche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,608 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décence" and "déclenche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décence vs décents". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #313,608 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.