décritevsdécrivezWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: décrite is a adjective, décrivez is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#9,645
“décrite” frequency rank
#36,359
“décrivez” frequency rank
46004
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décrite décrivez
Definition Féminin singulier de décrit. Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de décrire.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
décrite
8 ch
décrivez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décrite is \de.kʁit\ while décrivez is \de.kʁi.ve\. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46004, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décrite is recorded at frequency rank #9,645, classified as anadj, pronounced \de.kʁit\. décrivez is at rank #36,359, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kʁi.ve\.

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 46004, this pair ranks #198,383 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décrite vs décrivez

Shared letters: cdeiré. Private to "décrite": t. Private to "décrivez": vz.

"décrite" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "décrivez" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Frequency comparison

décrite#9,645
décrivez#36,359

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décrite" and "décrivez" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décrite" is an adjective and "décrivez" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "décrite" or "décrivez"?
"décrite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,645 in our French list, against #36,359 for "décrivez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering décrite vs décrivez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “décrite”; for a verb, it's “décrivez”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “décrite” 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