découlevsdécouperWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,390
“découle” frequency rank
#15,361
“découper” frequency rank
26751
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature découle découper
Definition Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de découler. Couper par morceaux une pièce de viande ou détacher un à un les membres d’une pièce de volaille, de gibier.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
découle
8 ch
découper

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. découle (\de.kul\) and découper (\de.ku.pe\) 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 26751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

découle is recorded at frequency rank #11,390, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kul\. découper is at rank #15,361, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.ku.pe\.

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 26751, this pair ranks #333,059 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of découle vs découper

Shared letters: cdeoué. Private to "découle": l. Private to "découper": pr.

"découle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "découper" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVC

Frequency comparison

découle#11,390
découper#15,361

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "découle" and "découper" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.kul\ versus \de.ku.pe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "découle" or "découper"?
"découle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,390 in our French list, against #15,361 for "découper". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering découle vs découper

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 “découle” 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