Which to use
“décrète” and “décrire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,554
- “décrète” frequency rank
- #4,751
- “décrire” frequency rank
- 29305
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décrète | décrire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décréter. | Représenter, dépeindre dans son ensemble une personne, une chose, soit par écrit, soit de vive voix. |
Where the eye mixes décrète and décrire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décrète and décrire follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses décrète with décrire
A purely visual mix-up. décrète (\de.kʁɛt\) and décrire (\de.kʁiʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29305, 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\. décrire is at rank #4,751, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kʁiʁ\.
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 29305, this pair ranks #317,519 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décrète vs décrire
Shared letters: cderé. Private to "décrète": tè. Private to "décrire": i.
"décrète" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "décrire" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décrète" and "décrire" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "décrète" or "décrire" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décrète" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décrire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #317,519 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décrète" and "décrire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décrète vs désuète". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #317,519 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.