décoréevsdécorerWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décorée is a adjective, décorer is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décorée” is an adjective and “décorer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,179
“décorée” frequency rank
#18,726
“décorer” frequency rank
36905
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décorée décorer
Definition Féminin singulier de décoré. Orner ou parer, en parlant d’ornements d’architecture, de peinture, de sculpture, etc.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décorée and décorer apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
décorée
7 ch
décorer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: décorée and décorer carry the same recorded pronunciation, \de.kɔ.ʁe\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36905, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décorée is recorded at frequency rank #18,179, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.kɔ.ʁe\. décorer is at rank #18,726, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.ʁe\.

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 36905, this pair ranks #266,275 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décorée vs décorer

Shared letters: cdeoré. Private to "décorée": -. Private to "décorer": -.

"décorée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "décorer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décorée#18,179
décorer#18,726

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décorée" and "décorer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décorée" is an adjective and "décorer" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décorée" or "décorer"?
"décorée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,179 in our French list, against #18,726 for "décorer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décorée vs décorer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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