quotationvsquotationsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“quotation” and “quotations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,820
“quotation” frequency rank
#19,954
“quotations” frequency rank
34774
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quotation quotations
Definition A fragment of a human expression that is repeated by somebody else, for example from literature or a famous speech. plural of quotation

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quotation and quotations apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
quotation
10 ch
quotations

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quotation (/kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/) and quotations (/kwoʊˈteɪʃənz/) 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 extra letter(s) - “quotation” sits inside “quotations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34774, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quotation is recorded at frequency rank #14,820, classified as anoun, pronounced /kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/. quotations is at rank #19,954, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kwoʊˈteɪʃənz/.

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 34774, this pair ranks #317,819 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quotation vs quotations

Shared letters: ainoqtu. Private to "quotation": -. Private to "quotations": s.

"quotation" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCVVC  ·  "quotations" · 10 letters · shape CVVCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quotationqoutation · qquotation · quoattion · quotaiton · quotasion · quotatino · quotationn · quotatoin
  • quotationsqoutations · qquotations · quoattions · quotaitons · quotatinos · quotationns · quotationss · quotatiosn

Frequency comparison

quotation#14,820
quotations#19,954

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quotation" and "quotations" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kwoʊˈteɪʃn̩/ versus /kwoʊˈteɪʃənz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quotation" or "quotations"?
"quotation" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,820 in our English list, against #19,954 for "quotations". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quotation vs quotations

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 “quotation” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list