Which to use
“décisif” and “décisive” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,989
- “décisif” frequency rank
- #8,535
- “décisive” frequency rank
- 17524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décisif | décisive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui emporte la décision. | Féminin singulier de décisif. |
Where the eye mixes décisif and décisive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décisif runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against décisive's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between décisif and décisive
A purely visual mix-up. décisif (\de.si.zif\) and décisive (\de.si.ziv\) 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 17524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décisif is recorded at frequency rank #8,989, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.si.zif\. décisive is at rank #8,535, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.si.ziv\.
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 17524, this pair ranks #382,741 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of décisif vs décisive
Shared letters: cdisé. Private to "décisif": f. Private to "décisive": ev.
"décisif" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décisive" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décisif" for "décisive" ever safe?
Which is more common, "décisif" or "décisive"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décisif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décisive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #382,741 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décisif" and "décisive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décisif vs decision". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #382,741 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.