Which to use
“décennies” is a noun and “décernés” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,145
- “décennies” frequency rank
- #35,476
- “décernés” frequency rank
- 39621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décennies | décernés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de décennie. | Participe passé masculin pluriel de décerner. |
Where the eye mixes décennies and décernés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décennies runs 9 letters (CVCVCCVVC) against décernés's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: décennies vs décernés
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décennies is \de.se.ni\ while décernés is \de.sɛʁ.ne\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décennies is recorded at frequency rank #4,145, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.se.ni\. décernés is at rank #35,476, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.sɛʁ.ne\.
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 39621, this pair ranks #246,620 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décennies vs décernés
Shared letters: cdensé. Private to "décennies": i. Private to "décernés": r.
"décennies" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "décernés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décennies" and "décernés" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "décennies" or "décernés" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décennies" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décernés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,620 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décennies" and "décernés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décents vs décernés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #246,620 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.