Which to use
“décréter” is a verb and “décrites” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,138
- “décréter” frequency rank
- #14,458
- “décrites” frequency rank
- 42596
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décréter | décrites |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ordonner, régler par un décret. | Féminin pluriel de décrit. |
Where the eye mixes décréter and décrites
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décréter and décrites follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: décréter vs décrites
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décréter is \de.kʁe.te\ while décrites is \de.kʁit\. 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 42596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décréter is recorded at frequency rank #28,138, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kʁe.te\. décrites is at rank #14,458, tagged as anadj, pronounced \de.kʁit\.
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 42596, this pair ranks #224,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of décréter vs décrites
Shared letters: cderté. Private to "décréter": -. Private to "décrites": is.
"décréter" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "décrites" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "décréter" for "décrites" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "décréter" or "décrites" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "décréter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décrites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #224,415 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décréter" and "décrites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décéder vs décréter". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #224,415 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.