Which to use
“regulations” and “relations” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,019
- “regulations” frequency rank
- #2,174
- “relations” frequency rank
- 5193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | regulations | relations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of regulation | plural of relation |
Where the eye mixes regulations and relations
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between regulations and relations
A purely visual mix-up. regulations (/ˌɹɛɡjəˈleɪʃənz/) and relations (/ɹɪˈleɪʃənz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5193, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
regulations is recorded at frequency rank #3,019, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˌɹɛɡjəˈleɪʃənz/. relations is at rank #2,174, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹɪˈleɪʃənz/.
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 5193, this pair ranks #516,247 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of regulations vs relations
Shared letters: aeilnorst. Private to "regulations": gu. Private to "relations": -.
"regulations" · 11 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVCC · "relations" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- regulations ← ergulations · reggulations · regluations · regualtions · regulaitons · regulatinos · regulationns · regulationss
- relations ← erlations · realtions · relaitons · relatinos · relationns · relationss · relatiosn · relatoins
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "regulations" and "relations" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "regulations" vs "relations" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "regulations" and "relations" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "regulations" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "relations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #516,247 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "regulations" and "relations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "relational vs relations". 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 #516,247 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.