décorevsdegréWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décore is a verb, degré is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décore” is a verb and “degré” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,232
“décore” frequency rank
#2,871
“degré” frequency rank
36103
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décore degré
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décorer. Espace compris entre deux marches d’un escalier.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décore and degré apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
décore
5 ch
degré

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décore is \de.kɔʁ\ while degré is \də.ɡʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36103, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décore is recorded at frequency rank #33,232, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kɔʁ\. degré is at rank #2,871, tagged as anoun, pronounced \də.ɡʁe\.

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 36103, this pair ranks #271,976 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décore vs degré

Shared letters: deré. Private to "décore": co. Private to "degré": g.

"décore" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "degré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

décore#33,232
degré#2,871

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décore" and "degré" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décore" is a verb and "degré" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décore" or "degré"?
"degré" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,871 in our French list, against #33,232 for "décore". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering décore vs degré

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “décore”; for a noun, it's “degré”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décore” 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