Which to use
“décidait” and “décrivait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,522
- “décidait” frequency rank
- #28,525
- “décrivait” frequency rank
- 52047
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décidait | décrivait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif imparfait de décider. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de décrire. |
Where the eye mixes décidait and décrivait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. décidait runs 8 letters (CVCVCVVC) against décrivait's 9 (CVCCVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décidait with décrivait
A purely visual mix-up. décidait (\de.si.dɛ\) and décrivait (\de.kʁi.vɛ\) 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 52047, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décidait is recorded at frequency rank #23,522, classified as averb, pronounced \de.si.dɛ\. décrivait is at rank #28,525, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kʁi.vɛ\.
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 52047, this pair ranks #150,564 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décidait vs décrivait
Shared letters: acdité. Private to "décidait": -. Private to "décrivait": rv.
"décidait" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "décrivait" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décidait" and "décrivait" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décidait" vs "décrivait" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décidait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décrivait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,564 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décidait" and "décrivait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décrivait vs dérivant". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #150,564 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.