Which to use
“décente” and “décents” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,734
- “décente” frequency rank
- #47,850
- “décents” frequency rank
- 77584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décente | décents |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de décent. | Masculin pluriel de décent. |
Where the eye mixes décente and décents
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décente (CVCVCCV) and décents (CVCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses décente with décents
A purely visual mix-up. décente (\de.sɑ̃t\) and décents (\de.sɑ̃\) 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 a single letter - e in “décente” becomes s in “décents”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décente is recorded at frequency rank #29,734, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.sɑ̃t\. décents is at rank #47,850, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.sɑ̃\.
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 77584, this pair ranks #27,947 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décente vs décents
Shared letters: cdenté. Private to "décente": -. Private to "décents": s.
"décente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "décents" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décente" for "décents" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décente" or "décents" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décents" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,947 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décente" and "décents" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décents vs démentis". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #27,947 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.