décodervsdécollerConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#33,230
“décoder” frequency rank
#12,771
“décoller” frequency rank
46001
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décoder décoller
Definition Déchiffrer ce qui est codé. Séparer, détacher une chose qui était collée.

Where the eye mixes décoder and décoller

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
décoder
8 ch
décoller

Visual trap between décoder and décoller

A purely visual mix-up. décoder (\de.kɔ.de\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décoder is recorded at frequency rank #33,230, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.de\. 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 46001, this pair ranks #198,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décoder vs décoller

Shared letters: cdeoré. Private to "décoder": -. Private to "décoller": l.

"décoder" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "décoller" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "décoder" and "décoller" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\de.kɔ.de\ versus \de.kɔ.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décoder" or "décoller"?
"décoller" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,771 in our French list, against #33,230 for "décoder". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "décoder" and "décoller" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "décoder" 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 #198,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "décoder" and "décoller" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décocher vs décoder". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #198,415 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list