découdre vs découvre, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#29,736
“découdre” frequency rank: #2,773
“découvre” frequency rank: 32509
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set découdre and découvre apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

découdre

8 ch

découvre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. découdre (\de.kudʁ\) and découvre (\de.kuvʁ\) 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 a single letter - d in “découdre” becomes v in “découvre”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32509, 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\. découvre is at rank #2,773, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kuvʁ\.

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 32509, this pair ranks #296,798 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of découdre vs découvre

Shared letters: cdeorué. Private to "découdre": -. Private to "découvre": v.

"découdre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV · "découvre" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV

Frequency comparison

découdre#29,736

découvre#2,773

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découdre" and "découvre" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\de.kudʁ\ versus \de.kuvʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "découdre" or "découvre"?

"découvre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,773 in our French list, against #29,736 for "découdre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering découdre vs découvre

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