décernevsdécernerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,068
“décerne” frequency rank
#23,841
“décerner” frequency rank
57909
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décerne décerner
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décerner. Établir à l’adresse de quelqu’un, délivrer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décerne and décerner apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
décerne
8 ch
décerner

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décerne (\de.sɛʁn\) and décerner (\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 extra letter(s) - “décerne” sits inside “décerner”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57909, 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\. décerner is at rank #23,841, 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 57909, this pair ranks #112,200 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décerne vs décerner

Shared letters: cdenré. Private to "décerne": -. Private to "décerner": -.

"décerne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "décerner" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

décerne#34,068
décerner#23,841

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décerne" and "décerner" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.sɛʁn\ versus \de.sɛʁ.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décerne" or "décerner"?
"décerner" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,841 in our French list, against #34,068 for "décerne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décerne vs décerner

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 “décerne” 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