Which to use
“décolle” and “décoller” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,725
- “décolle” frequency rank
- #12,771
- “décoller” frequency rank
- 31496
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décolle | décoller |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décoller. | Séparer, détacher une chose qui était collée. |
Where the eye mixes décolle and décoller
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. décolle runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against décoller's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between décolle and décoller
A purely visual mix-up. décolle (\de.kɔl\) 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 extra letter(s) - “décolle” sits inside “décoller”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décolle is recorded at frequency rank #18,725, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kɔl\. 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 31496, this pair ranks #303,441 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décolle vs décoller
Shared letters: cdeloé. Private to "décolle": -. Private to "décoller": r.
"décolle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "décoller" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décolle" and "décoller" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "décolle" or "décoller"?
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 "décolle" 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 #303,441 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décolle" and "décoller" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décèle vs décolle". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #303,441 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.