décoréevsdécrèteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#18,179
“décorée” frequency rank
#24,554
“décrète” frequency rank
42733
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décorée décrète
Definition Féminin singulier de décoré. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décréter.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décorée and décrète apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
décorée
7 ch
décrète

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décorée is \de.kɔ.ʁe\ while décrète is \de.kʁɛt\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42733, 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\. décrète is at rank #24,554, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kʁɛt\.

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 42733, this pair ranks #223,346 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décorée vs décrète

Shared letters: cderé. Private to "décorée": o. Private to "décrète": .

"décorée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "décrète" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Frequency comparison

décorée#18,179
décrète#24,554

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décorée" and "décrète" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décorée" is an adjective and "décrète" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décorée" or "décrète"?
"décorée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,179 in our French list, against #24,554 for "décrète". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décorée vs décrète

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 “décrète”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list