Which to use
“déclarer” and “décliner” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,028
- “déclarer” frequency rank
- #18,724
- “décliner” frequency rank
- 23752
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | déclarer | décliner |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faire connaître d’une façon manifeste. | Pencher vers sa fin ; s’affaiblir, en parlant des choses. |
Where the eye mixes déclarer and décliner
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses déclarer with décliner
A purely visual mix-up. déclarer (\de.kla.ʁe\) and décliner (\de.kli.ne\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23752, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
déclarer is recorded at frequency rank #5,028, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kla.ʁe\. décliner is at rank #18,724, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kli.ne\.
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 23752, this pair ranks #350,670 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of déclarer vs décliner
Shared letters: cdelré. Private to "déclarer": a. Private to "décliner": in.
"déclarer" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "décliner" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "déclarer" and "décliner" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "déclarer" vs "décliner" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "déclarer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décliner" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #350,670 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "déclarer" and "décliner" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décliner vs délier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #350,670 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.