décentsvsdécretsWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,850
“décents” frequency rank
#13,159
“décrets” frequency rank
61009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décents décrets
Definition Masculin pluriel de décent. Pluriel de décret.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
décents
7 ch
décrets

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décents is \de.sɑ̃\ while décrets is \de.kʁɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61009, 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\. décrets is at rank #13,159, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.kʁɛ\.

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 61009, this pair ranks #94,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décents vs décrets

Shared letters: cdesté. Private to "décents": n. Private to "décrets": r.

"décents" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCC  ·  "décrets" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Frequency comparison

décents#47,850
décrets#13,159

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décents" and "décrets" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décents" is an adjective and "décrets" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décents" or "décrets"?
"décrets" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,159 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 décrets

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “décents”; for a noun, it's “décrets”.
  • 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