découdrevsdécouleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“découdre” and “découle” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,736
“découdre” frequency rank
#11,390
“découle” frequency rank
41126
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature découdre découle
Definition Défaire ce qui est cousu. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de découler.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
découdre
7 ch
découle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. découdre (\de.kudʁ\) and découle (\de.kul\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

découdre is recorded at frequency rank #29,736, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kudʁ\. découle is at rank #11,390, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kul\.

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 41126, this pair ranks #235,399 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of découdre vs découle

Shared letters: cdeoué. Private to "découdre": r. Private to "découle": l.

"découdre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV  ·  "découle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Frequency comparison

découdre#29,736
découle#11,390

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découdre" and "découle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.kudʁ\ versus \de.kul\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "découdre" or "découle"?
"découle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,390 in our French list, against #29,736 for "découdre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering découdre vs découle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “découdre” 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