décorvsdémonWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,567
“décor” frequency rank
#6,814
“démon” frequency rank
11381
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décor démon
Definition Ce qui enjolive, en parlant du papier, de la peinture, des ornements. Génie, esprit ou divinité, bon ou mauvais.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décor and démon apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
décor
5 ch
démon

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décor (\de.kɔʁ\) and démon (\de.mɔ̃\) 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 11381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décor is recorded at frequency rank #4,567, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.kɔʁ\. démon is at rank #6,814, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.mɔ̃\.

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 11381, this pair ranks #409,361 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of décor vs démon

Shared letters: doé. Private to "décor": cr. Private to "démon": mn.

"décor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "démon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

décor#4,567
démon#6,814

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décor" and "démon" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.kɔʁ\ versus \de.mɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décor" or "démon"?
"décor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,567 in our French list, against #6,814 for "démon". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décor vs démon

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décor” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list