décritevsdécrypteConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#9,645
“décrite” frequency rank
#37,774
“décrypte” frequency rank
47419
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature décrite décrypte
Definition Féminin singulier de décrit. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de décrypter.

Where the eye mixes décrite and décrypte

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. décrite runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against décrypte's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
décrite
8 ch
décrypte

Visual trap between décrite and décrypte

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décrite is \de.kʁit\ while décrypte is \de.kʁipt\. 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 47419, 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\. décrypte is at rank #37,774, tagged as averb, pronounced \de.kʁipt\.

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 47419, this pair ranks #187,108 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of décrite vs décrypte

Shared letters: cderté. Private to "décrite": i. Private to "décrypte": py.

"décrite" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "décrypte" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "décrite" for "décrypte" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décrite" is an adjective and "décrypte" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "décrite" vs "décrypte" - which ranks higher?
"décrite" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,645 in our French list, against #37,774 for "décrypte". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "décrite" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "décrypte" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #187,108 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "décrite" and "décrypte" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décrypte vs décrypter". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #187,108 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list