déchargevsdéchargerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décharge is a noun, décharger is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décharge” is a noun and “décharger” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,308
“décharge” frequency rank
#20,425
“décharger” frequency rank
27733
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décharge décharger
Definition Action de décharger. Ôter ce qui formait la charge d’un navire, d’un bateau, d’une voiture de transport, d’une bête de somme, etc.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décharge and décharger apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
décharge
9 ch
décharger

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décharge is \de.ʃaʁʒ\ while décharger is \de.ʃaʁ.ʒe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “décharge” sits inside “décharger”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27733, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décharge is recorded at frequency rank #7,308, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.ʃaʁʒ\. décharger is at rank #20,425, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʃaʁ.ʒe\.

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 27733, this pair ranks #327,128 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décharge vs décharger

Shared letters: acdeghré. Private to "décharge": -. Private to "décharger": -.

"décharge" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "décharger" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

décharge#7,308
décharger#20,425

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décharge" and "décharger" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décharge" is a noun and "décharger" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décharge" or "décharger"?
"décharge" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,308 in our French list, against #20,425 for "décharger". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décharge vs décharger

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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