Which to use
“décides” is a verb and “décrites” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,995
- “décides” frequency rank
- #14,458
- “décrites” frequency rank
- 33453
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décides | décrites |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décider. | Féminin pluriel de décrit. |
Where the eye mixes décides and décrites
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décides runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against décrites's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décides with décrites
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décides is \de.sid\ while décrites 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 33453, 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\. décrites is at rank #14,458, 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 33453, this pair ranks #290,541 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décides vs décrites
Shared letters: cdeisé. Private to "décides": -. Private to "décrites": rt.
"décides" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décrites" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décides" and "décrites" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décides" vs "décrites" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "décides" and "décrites" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décides" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décrites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #290,541 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décides" and "décrites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décides vs déçues". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #290,541 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.