Which to use
“décrire” is a verb and “décrite” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,751
- “décrire” frequency rank
- #9,645
- “décrite” frequency rank
- 14396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | décrire | décrite |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Représenter, dépeindre dans son ensemble une personne, une chose, soit par écrit, soit de vive voix. | Féminin singulier de décrit. |
Where the eye mixes décrire and décrite
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses décrire with décrite
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décrire is \de.kʁiʁ\ while décrite is \de.kʁit\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - r in “décrire” becomes t in “décrite”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
décrire is recorded at frequency rank #4,751, classified as averb, pronounced \de.kʁiʁ\. décrite is at rank #9,645, 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 14396, this pair ranks #396,869 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of décrire vs décrite
Shared letters: cdeiré. Private to "décrire": -. Private to "décrite": t.
"décrire" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "décrite" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "décrire" and "décrite" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "décrire" vs "décrite" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "décrire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décrite" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,869 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "décrire" and "décrite" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décrite vs déduite". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #396,869 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.