décidémentvsdéfilementWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décidément is a adverb, défilement is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décidément” is an adverb and “défilement” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,428
“décidément” frequency rank
#48,465
“défilement” frequency rank
55893
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décidément défilement
Definition D’une manière décidée, ferme. Méthode pour préserver des coups d’enfilade un ouvrage ou une troupe, ou résultat de cette méthode.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décidément and défilement apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
décidément
10 ch
défilement

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décidément is \de.si.de.mɑ̃\ while défilement is \de.fil.mɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55893, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décidément is recorded at frequency rank #7,428, classified as anadv, pronounced \de.si.de.mɑ̃\. défilement is at rank #48,465, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.fil.mɑ̃\.

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 55893, this pair ranks #124,523 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décidément vs défilement

Shared letters: deimnté. Private to "décidément": c. Private to "défilement": fl.

"décidément" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCC  ·  "défilement" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCC

Frequency comparison

décidément#7,428
défilement#48,465

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décidément" and "défilement" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décidément" is an adverb and "défilement" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décidément" or "défilement"?
"décidément" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,428 in our French list, against #48,465 for "défilement". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décidément vs défilement

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “décidément”; for a noun, it's “défilement”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décidément” 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