Which to use
“décocher” and “décoller” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,126
- “décocher” frequency rank
- #12,771
- “décoller” frequency rank
- 58897
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décocher | décoller |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tirer une flèche avec l’arbalète ou avec toute autre arme de trait semblable. | Séparer, détacher une chose qui était collée. |
Where the eye mixes décocher and décoller
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décocher and décoller follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses décocher with décoller
A purely visual mix-up. décocher (\de.kɔ.ʃe\) and décoller (\de.kɔ.le\) 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 58897, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décocher is recorded at frequency rank #46,126, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.ʃe\. décoller is at rank #12,771, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.le\.
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 58897, this pair ranks #106,256 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décocher vs décoller
Shared letters: cdeoré. Private to "décocher": h. Private to "décoller": l.
"décocher" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "décoller" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décocher" for "décoller" ever safe?
Frequency check: "décocher" vs "décoller" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "décocher" and "décoller" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "décocher" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décoller" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #106,256 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décocher" and "décoller" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décocher vs découler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #106,256 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.