Which to use
“common” is an adjective and “commons” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,847
- “common” frequency rank
- #24,283
- “commons” frequency rank
- 42130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | common | commons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | gewöhnlich, gebräuchlich, normal | Plural des Substantivs common |
Where the eye mixes common and commons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between common and commons
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: common is [ˈkɒmən] while commons is [ˈkɒmənz]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “common” sits inside “commons”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
common is recorded at frequency rank #17,847, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈkɒmən]. commons is at rank #24,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkɒmənz].
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 42130, this pair ranks #1,458,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of common vs commons
Shared letters: cmno. Private to "common": -. Private to "commons": s.
"common" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "commons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "common" for "commons" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "common" or "commons" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "common" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "commons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,458,704 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "common" and "commons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "commons vs commune". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #1,458,704 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.