Which to use
“décoder” and “déroger” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,230
- “décoder” frequency rank
- #29,747
- “déroger” frequency rank
- 62977
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décoder | déroger |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Déchiffrer ce qui est codé. | S’écarter, de quelque manière que ce soit, de ce qui est établi par une loi, un acte de l’autorité publique, une convention, des droits, un usage, etc. |
Where the eye mixes décoder and déroger
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between décoder and déroger
A purely visual mix-up. décoder (\de.kɔ.de\) and déroger (\de.ʁɔ.ʒe\) 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 62977, 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\. déroger is at rank #29,747, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁɔ.ʒe\.
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 62977, this pair ranks #84,270 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décoder vs déroger
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "décoder": c. Private to "déroger": g.
"décoder" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "déroger" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décoder" for "déroger" ever safe?
Which is more common, "décoder" or "déroger"?
After this comparison
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 "déroger" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #84,270 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décoder" and "déroger" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décocher vs décoder". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #84,270 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.