Which to use
“décident” and “décidèrent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,605
- “décident” frequency rank
- #25,290
- “décidèrent” frequency rank
- 31895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décident | décidèrent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de décider. | Troisième personne du pluriel du passé simple de décider. |
Where the eye mixes décident and décidèrent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. décident runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCC) against décidèrent's 10 (CVCVCVCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between décident and décidèrent
A purely visual mix-up. décident (\de.sid\) and décidèrent (\de.si.dɛʁ\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décident is recorded at frequency rank #6,605, classified as averb, pronounced \de.sid\. décidèrent is at rank #25,290, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.si.dɛʁ\.
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 31895, this pair ranks #300,880 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décident vs décidèrent
Shared letters: cdeinté. Private to "décident": -. Private to "décidèrent": rè.
"décident" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "décidèrent" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décident" for "décidèrent" ever safe?
Frequency check: "décident" vs "décidèrent" - 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 "décident" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décidèrent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,880 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décident" and "décidèrent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décidaient vs décidèrent". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #300,880 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.