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 eye mixes décida and décidait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décida runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against décidait's 8 (CVCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décida with décidait
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décida" and "décidait" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "décida" or "décidait"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décida" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décidait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,662 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décida" and "décidait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décidaient vs décidait". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #294,662 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.