décernevsdécernésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,068
“décerne” frequency rank
#35,476
“décernés” frequency rank
69544
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décerne décernés
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décerner. Participe passé masculin pluriel de décerner.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
décerne
8 ch
décernés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décerne (\de.sɛʁn\) and décernés (\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 69544, 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\. 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 69544, this pair ranks #54,696 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of décerne vs décernés

Shared letters: cdenré. Private to "décerne": -. Private to "décernés": s.

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

Frequency comparison

décerne#34,068
décernés#35,476

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décerne" and "décernés" 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 "décernés"?
"décerne" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,068 in our French list, against #35,476 for "décernés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décerne vs décernés

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