Which to use
“décides” and “décimée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,995
- “décides” frequency rank
- #42,299
- “décimée” frequency rank
- 61294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décides | décimée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décider. | Participe passé féminin singulier de décimer. |
Where the eye mixes décides and décimée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décides (CVCVCVC) and décimée (CVCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: décides vs décimée
A purely visual mix-up. décides (\de.sid\) and décimée (\de.si.me\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décides is recorded at frequency rank #18,995, classified as averb, pronounced \de.sid\. décimée is at rank #42,299, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.si.me\.
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 61294, this pair ranks #93,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décides vs décimée
Shared letters: cdeié. Private to "décides": s. Private to "décimée": m.
"décides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décimée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décides" and "décimée" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décides" vs "décimée" - which ranks higher?
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 "décides" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décimée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #93,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décides" and "décimée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décimale vs décimée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #93,024 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.