Which to use
“décrète” is a verb and “décrits” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,554
- “décrète” frequency rank
- #13,574
- “décrits” frequency rank
- 38128
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décrète | décrits |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décréter. | Masculin pluriel de décrit. |
Where the eye mixes décrète and décrits
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. décrète (CVCCVCV) and décrits (CVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses décrète with décrits
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décrète is \de.kʁɛt\ while décrits is \de.kʁi\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38128, 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\. décrits is at rank #13,574, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.kʁi\.
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 38128, this pair ranks #257,455 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décrète vs décrits
Shared letters: cdrté. Private to "décrète": eè. Private to "décrits": is.
"décrète" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "décrits" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décrète" and "décrits" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "décrète" or "décrits" show up more?
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 "décrits" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,455 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décrète" and "décrits" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décrète vs désuète". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #257,455 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.