Which to use
“décerne” and “décernée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,068
- “décerne” frequency rank
- #34,508
- “décernée” frequency rank
- 68576
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décerne | décernée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décerner. | Participe passé féminin singulier de décerner. |
Where the eye mixes décerne and décernée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. décerne runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against décernée's 8 (CVCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décerne with décernée
A purely visual mix-up. décerne (\de.sɛʁn\) and décernée (\de.sɛʁ.ne\) 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 68576, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décerne is recorded at frequency rank #34,068, classified as averb, pronounced \de.sɛʁn\. décernée is at rank #34,508, 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 68576, this pair ranks #58,603 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décerne vs décernée
Shared letters: cdenré. Private to "décerne": -. Private to "décernée": -.
"décerne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "décernée" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décerne" for "décernée" ever safe?
Which is more common, "décerne" or "décernée"?
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 "décerne" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décernée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,603 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décerne" and "décernée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décernée vs décriée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #58,603 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.