diffusion
\di.fy.zjɔ̃\
The verdict
“diffusion” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,570 in French word frequency and used as a noun.
- #2,570
- frequency rank, French
- 9
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Action de répandre dans tous les sens.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | diffusion |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | \di.fy.zjɔ̃\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #2,570 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “diffusion” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for diffusion is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \di.fy.zjɔ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,570 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for diffusion, with forms such as "ddiffusion", "dfifusion", and "diffsuion". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "diffusions", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is diffusion, spelled D-I-F-F-U-S-I-O-N.
Definition
- 1Action de répandre dans tous les sens.
- 2Pénétration ou migration d'espèces chimiques dans un milieu liquide ou gazeux.
- 3Action de se répandre ou état de ce qui est répandu en parlant des gaz, de la chaleur, de la lumière, du son.
- 4Propagation des ondes (notamment de la lumière) lorsque celles-ci rencontrent un obstacle.
- 5Conduction thermique entre deux régions d’un même milieu ou entre deux milieux en contact sans déplacement appréciable de matière.
- 6Caractère d'un style qui manque de concision, où les idées sont diffuses.
- 7Processus dans lequel un changement de direction et d’énergie d’une particule incidente ou d’un rayonnement incident est provoqué par une collision avec une autre particule ou un système de particules.
- 8Distribution.
- 9Radiodiffusion d'une émission télévisuelle ou radiophonique, propagation.
- 10Opération qui consiste à doper un semiconducteur positivement ou négativement par exposition des tranches du semiconducteur à des gaz dopants à température élevée.
- 11Changement de répartition spatiale d'un rayonnement qui est dévié dans de multiples directions par une surface ou par un milieu.
- 12Le fait d’informer les détaillants — libraires, grandes surfaces — de l'existence d’un ouvrage, d’en assurer la promotion et de prendre les commandes.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddiffusion,dfifusion,diffsuion,diffuison,diffusino,diffusionn,diffusoin,diffussion,difufsion,difusion,idffusion
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of diffusion - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “diffusion”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is D-I-F-F-U-S-I-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \di.fy.zjɔ̃\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “diffusions” - see the side-by-side comparison. diffusion vs diffusions
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.