Which to use
“décorer” and “déjouer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,726
- “décorer” frequency rank
- #22,548
- “déjouer” frequency rank
- 41274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décorer | déjouer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Orner ou parer, en parlant d’ornements d’architecture, de peinture, de sculpture, etc. | Faire échouer le jeu de quelqu’un. |
Where the eye mixes décorer and déjouer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décorer (CVCVCVC) and déjouer (CVCVVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between décorer and déjouer
A purely visual mix-up. décorer (\de.kɔ.ʁe\) and déjouer (\de.ʒwe\) 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 41274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décorer is recorded at frequency rank #18,726, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kɔ.ʁe\. déjouer is at rank #22,548, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ʒwe\.
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 41274, this pair ranks #234,316 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décorer vs déjouer
Shared letters: deoré. Private to "décorer": c. Private to "déjouer": ju.
"décorer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "déjouer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "décorer" and "déjouer" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "décorer" or "déjouer" show up more?
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 "décorer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "déjouer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #234,316 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décorer" and "déjouer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déjouer vs dérouter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #234,316 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.