French word

déchiffrer

Pronunciation

IPA/deʃifʁe/

Meaning

  • verbdecipher

Example

Je peux déchiffrer cette lettre.

I can decipher this letter.

Illustration for déchiffrer (decipher)

More examples

Je n'arrive pas à déchiffrer son écriture.

I can't decipher his handwriting.

Core concept

A reader reconstructs a hidden sentence from cipher symbols or hard-to-read handwriting.

Common phrases

  • déchiffrer le sens

    decipher the meaning

  • déchiffrer un texte

    decipher a text

  • déchiffrer l'écriture

    decipher the handwriting

Similar words

lire: Follow written words visually to grasp the content of a text.
comprendre: Understand the meaning of something spoken or written.

Definition in French

Extraire le sens d'un message obscur, soit par décodage d'un chiffrement, soit par lecture d'une écriture difficile.

Word origin

Déchiffrer is built from dé- and chiffrer, with chiffre referring to a sign or code used to conceal meaning.

Usage tips

  • French uses déchiffrer for deciphering a code and for making out difficult writing, while English often uses separate verbs for these contexts.

Other meanings

  • make outverb
  • decodeverb

Opposites

Related words

  • déchiffrementdeciphermentnoun
  • déchiffrabledecipherableadjective

Word lists with this word