Which to use
“commands” and “commons” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,544
- “commands” frequency rank
- #5,665
- “commons” frequency rank
- 13209
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | commands | commons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of command | plural of common |
Where the eye mixes commands and commons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: commands vs commons
A purely visual mix-up. commands (/kəˈmændz/) and commons (/ˈkɑmənz/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
commands is recorded at frequency rank #7,544, classified as anoun, pronounced /kəˈmændz/. commons is at rank #5,665, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɑmənz/.
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 13209, this pair ranks #477,145 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of commands vs commons
Shared letters: cmnos. Private to "commands": ad. Private to "commons": -.
"commands" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCC · "commons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "commands" and "commons" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "commands" or "commons" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "commands" and "commons" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "commands" 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 #477,145 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "commands" and "commons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "comming vs commons". 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 #477,145 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.