Which to use
“décoder” and “dérober” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,230
- “décoder” frequency rank
- #23,527
- “dérober” frequency rank
- 56757
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décoder | dérober |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Déchiffrer ce qui est codé. | Enlever ou voler en cachette. |
Where the eye mixes décoder and dérober
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses décoder with dérober
A purely visual mix-up. décoder (\de.kɔ.de\) and dérober (\de.ʁɔ.be\) 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 56757, 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\. dérober is at rank #23,527, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁɔ.be\.
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 56757, this pair ranks #119,115 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décoder vs dérober
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "décoder": c. Private to "dérober": b.
"décoder" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "dérober" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décoder" and "dérober" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "décoder" vs "dérober" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décoder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérober" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,115 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décoder" and "dérober" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décocher vs décoder". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #119,115 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.