décentsvsdécernésWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décents is a adjective, décernés is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décents” is an adjective and “décernés” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,850
“décents” frequency rank
#35,476
“décernés” frequency rank
83326
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décents décernés
Definition Masculin pluriel de décent. Participe passé masculin pluriel de décerner.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
décents
8 ch
décernés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décents is \de.sɑ̃\ 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 83326, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décents is recorded at frequency rank #47,850, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.sɑ̃\. 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 83326, this pair ranks #15,053 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décents vs décernés

Shared letters: cdensé. Private to "décents": t. Private to "décernés": r.

"décents" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "décernés" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

décents#47,850
décernés#35,476

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décents" and "décernés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décents" is an adjective and "décernés" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décents" or "décernés"?
"décernés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,476 in our French list, against #47,850 for "décents". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décents vs décernés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “décents”; for a verb, it's “décernés”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décents” 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