décrisvsdécriteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décris is a noun, décrite is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“décris” is a noun and “décrite” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,189
“décris” frequency rank
#9,645
“décrite” frequency rank
33834
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décris décrite
Definition Pluriel de décri. Féminin singulier de décrit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décris and décrite apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
décris
7 ch
décrite

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décris is \de.kʁi\ while décrite is \de.kʁit\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33834, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décris is recorded at frequency rank #24,189, classified as anoun, pronounced \de.kʁi\. 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 33834, this pair ranks #287,972 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décris vs décrite

Shared letters: cdiré. Private to "décris": s. Private to "décrite": et.

"décris" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "décrite" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Frequency comparison

décris#24,189
décrite#9,645

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décris" and "décrite" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décris" is a noun and "décrite" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décris" or "décrite"?
"décrite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,645 in our French list, against #24,189 for "décris". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décris vs décrite

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “décris”; for an adjective, it's “décrite”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décris” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list