Which to use
“décoller” and “découler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,771
- “décoller” frequency rank
- #35,908
- “découler” frequency rank
- 48679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décoller | découler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Séparer, détacher une chose qui était collée. | Couler peu à peu et de suite. |
Where the eye mixes décoller and découler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. décoller (CVCVCCVC) and découler (CVCVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses décoller with découler
A purely visual mix-up. décoller (\de.kɔ.le\) and découler (\de.ku.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 a single letter - l in “décoller” becomes u in “découler”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décoller is recorded at frequency rank #12,771, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.le\. découler is at rank #35,908, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ku.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 48679, this pair ranks #176,869 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décoller vs découler
Shared letters: cdeloré. Private to "décoller": -. Private to "découler": u.
"décoller" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "découler" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décoller" for "découler" ever safe?
Frequency check: "décoller" vs "découler" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décoller" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "découler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,869 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décoller" and "découler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "découler vs dérouter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #176,869 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.