Which to use
“décore” and “dérobe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,232
- “décore” frequency rank
- #39,767
- “dérobe” frequency rank
- 72999
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décore | dérobe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décorer. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de dérober. |
Where the eye mixes décore and dérobe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. décore and dérobe follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: décore vs dérobe
A purely visual mix-up. décore (\de.kɔʁ\) and dérobe (\de.ʁɔb\) 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 72999, 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\. dérobe is at rank #39,767, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʁɔb\.
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 72999, this pair ranks #42,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of décore vs dérobe
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "décore": c. Private to "dérobe": b.
"décore" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "dérobe" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décore" and "dérobe" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "décore" vs "dérobe" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décore" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dérobe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,033 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décore" and "dérobe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "derme vs dérobe". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #42,033 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.