Which to use
“percussion” and “permission” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,920
- “percussion” frequency rank
- #3,015
- “permission” frequency rank
- 20935
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | percussion | permission |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The collision of two bodies in order to produce a sound. | authorisation; consent (especially formal consent from someone in authority) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set percussion and permission apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. percussion (/pɚˈkʌʃən/) and permission (/pəˈmɪʃ.ən/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
percussion is recorded at frequency rank #17,920, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɚˈkʌʃən/. permission is at rank #3,015, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pəˈmɪʃ.ən/.
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 20935, this pair ranks #427,599 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of percussion vs permission
Shared letters: einoprs. Private to "percussion": cu. Private to "permission": m.
"percussion" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "permission" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- percussion ← eprcussion · pecrussion · perccussion · percsusion · percusion · percusison · percussino · percussionn
- permission ← eprmission · pemrission · perimssion · permision · permisison · permissino · permissionn · permissoin
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "percussion" and "permission" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "percussion" or "permission"?
Remembering percussion vs permission
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “percussion” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable