Which to use
“décors” is a noun and “décousu” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,382
- “décors” frequency rank
- #48,460
- “décousu” frequency rank
- 56842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décors | décousu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de décor. | Caractérise des propos sans suite, un style qui n’a pas de liaison, des événements non reliés entre eux. |
Where the eye mixes décors and décousu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décors runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against décousu's 7 (CVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses décors with décousu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décors is \de.kɔʁ\ while décousu is \de.ku.zy\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56842, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décors is recorded at frequency rank #8,382, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.kɔʁ\. décousu is at rank #48,460, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.ku.zy\.
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 56842, this pair ranks #118,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décors vs décousu
Shared letters: cdosé. Private to "décors": r. Private to "décousu": u.
"décors" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "décousu" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décors" for "décousu" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décors" or "décousu" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décors" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décousu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #118,579 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décors" and "décousu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "déchus vs décousu". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #118,579 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.