Which to use
“deco” and “do” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,324
- “deco” frequency rank
- #2,819
- “do” frequency rank
- 29143
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | deco | do |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Décence. | Première note de la gamme. |
Where the eye mixes deco and do
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between deco and do
A purely visual mix-up. deco (\ˈdɛ.ʦɔ\) and do (\do\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
deco is recorded at frequency rank #26,324, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈdɛ.ʦɔ\. do is at rank #2,819, tagged as anoun, pronounced \do\.
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 29143, this pair ranks #318,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of deco vs do
Shared letters: do. Private to "deco": ce. Private to "do": -.
"deco" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "do" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- deco ← dceo · ddeco · decco · deoc · edco
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "deco" for "do" ever safe?
Which is more common, "deco" or "do"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "deco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "do" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #318,509 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "deco" and "do" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "dèche vs deco". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #318,509 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.