Which to use
“décrète” and “décréter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,554
- “décrète” frequency rank
- #28,138
- “décréter” frequency rank
- 52692
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décrète | décréter |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décréter. | Ordonner, régler par un décret. |
Where the eye mixes décrète and décréter
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décrète runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against décréter's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: décrète vs décréter
A purely visual mix-up. décrète (\de.kʁɛt\) and décréter (\de.kʁe.te\) 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 52692, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décrète is recorded at frequency rank #24,554, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kʁɛt\. décréter is at rank #28,138, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kʁe.te\.
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 52692, this pair ranks #145,930 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décrète vs décréter
Shared letters: cderté. Private to "décrète": è. Private to "décréter": -.
"décrète" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "décréter" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décrète" and "décréter" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "décrète" or "décréter"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décrète" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décréter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,930 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décrète" and "décréter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décrète vs désuète". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #145,930 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.