décidonsvsdevionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“décidons” and “devions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,477
“décidons” frequency rank
#17,110
“devions” frequency rank
52587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décidons devions
Definition Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de décider. Première personne du pluriel de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de devoir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décidons and devions apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
décidons
7 ch
devions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décidons (\de.si.dɔ̃\) and devions (\də.vjɔ̃\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décidons is recorded at frequency rank #35,477, classified as averb, pronounced \de.si.dɔ̃\. devions is at rank #17,110, tagged as averb, pronounced \də.vjɔ̃\.

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 52587, this pair ranks #146,663 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décidons vs devions

Shared letters: dinos. Private to "décidons": . Private to "devions": ev.

"décidons" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC  ·  "devions" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • devionsddevions · deivons · devinos · devionns · devionss · deviosn · devoins · devvions

Frequency comparison

décidons#35,477
devions#17,110

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décidons" and "devions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.si.dɔ̃\ versus \də.vjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décidons" or "devions"?
"devions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,110 in our French list, against #35,477 for "décidons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décidons vs devions

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décidons” 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