Which to use
“déchu” and “déchue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,934
- “déchu” frequency rank
- #42,837
- “déchue” frequency rank
- 60771
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déchu | déchue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a perdu sa dignité, son rang, sa réputation. | Féminin singulier de déchu. |
Same sound, different letters: déchu vs déchue
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. déchu runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against déchue's 6 (CVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - déchu / déchue
This is the hard kind. déchu and déchue are pronounced identically (\de.ʃy\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “déchu” sits inside “déchue”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60771, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déchu is recorded at frequency rank #17,934, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.ʃy\. déchue is at rank #42,837, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.ʃy\.
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 60771, this pair ranks #95,850 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of déchu vs déchue
Shared letters: cdhué. Private to "déchu": -. Private to "déchue": e.
"déchu" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "déchue" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déchu" and "déchue" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "déchu" or "déchue"?
After this comparison
You've separated the homophone pair "déchu" / "déchue". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "déchu" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déchue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #95,850 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déchu" and "déchue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dèche vs déchue". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #95,850 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.