décentevsdémentieWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“décente” and “démentie” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,734
“décente” frequency rank
#34,997
“démentie” frequency rank
64731
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décente démentie
Definition Féminin singulier de décent. Féminin singulier de démenti.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décente and démentie apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
décente
8 ch
démentie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décente (\de.sɑ̃t\) and démentie (\de.mɑ̃.ti\) 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 64731, 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\. démentie is at rank #34,997, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.mɑ̃.ti\.

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 64731, this pair ranks #75,618 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décente vs démentie

Shared letters: denté. Private to "décente": c. Private to "démentie": im.

"décente" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "démentie" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

décente#29,734
démentie#34,997

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décente" and "démentie" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.sɑ̃t\ versus \de.mɑ̃.ti\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décente" or "démentie"?
"décente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,734 in our French list, against #34,997 for "démentie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décente vs démentie

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décente” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list