décidavsdécidaitWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,309
“décida” frequency rank
#23,522
“décidait” frequency rank
32831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décida décidait
Definition Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de décider. Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de décider.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
décida
8 ch
décidait

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décida (\de.si.da\) and décidait (\de.si.dɛ\) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “décida” sits inside “décidait”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décida is recorded at frequency rank #9,309, classified as averb, pronounced \de.si.da\. décidait is at rank #23,522, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.si.dɛ\.

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 32831, this pair ranks #294,662 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décida vs décidait

Shared letters: acdié. Private to "décida": -. Private to "décidait": t.

"décida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "décidait" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC

Frequency comparison

décida#9,309
décidait#23,522

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décida" and "décidait" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.si.da\ versus \de.si.dɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décida" or "décidait"?
"décida" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,309 in our French list, against #23,522 for "décidait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décida vs décidait

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 “décida” 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