décritvsdécritesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“décrit” and “décrites” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,516
“décrit” frequency rank
#14,458
“décrites” frequency rank
16974
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décrit décrites
Definition Dépeint, exprimé oralement ou par écrit. Féminin pluriel de décrit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décrit and décrites apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
décrit
8 ch
décrites

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. décrit (\de.kʁi\) and décrites (\de.kʁit\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “décrit” sits inside “décrites”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décrit is recorded at frequency rank #2,516, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.kʁi\. 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 16974, this pair ranks #385,405 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of décrit vs décrites

Shared letters: cdirté. Private to "décrit": -. Private to "décrites": es.

"décrit" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "décrites" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décrit#2,516
décrites#14,458

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décrit" and "décrites" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\de.kʁi\ versus \de.kʁit\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "décrit" or "décrites"?
"décrit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,516 in our French list, against #14,458 for "décrites". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décrit vs décrites

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décrit” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list