decide vs décrite, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“decide” is a verb and “décrite” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,555
“decide” frequency rank: #9,645
“décrite” frequency rank: 40200
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	decide	décrite
Definition	Décider.	Féminin singulier de décrit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set decide and décrite apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

decide

7 ch

décrite

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: decide is \dɪˈsɑɪd\ while décrite is \de.kʁit\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

decide is recorded at frequency rank #30,555, classified as averb, pronounced \dɪˈsɑɪd\. décrite is at rank #9,645, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.kʁit\.

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 40200, this pair ranks #242,272 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of decide vs décrite

Shared letters: cdei. Private to "decide": -. Private to "décrite": rté.

"decide" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "décrite" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

decide ← dceide · ddecide · deccide · decdie · decidde · decied · deicde · edcide

Frequency comparison

decide#30,555

décrite#9,645

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "decide" and "décrite" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "decide" is a verb and "décrite" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "decide" or "décrite"?

"décrite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,645 in our French list, against #30,555 for "decide". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering decide vs décrite

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “decide”; for an adjective, it's “décrite”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “decide” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable