distinction

\dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\

/\dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“distinction” has 17 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #4,227. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,227
frequency rank, French
5,307
“D” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Action de séparer nettement une chose d’une autre.

Corpus desk

Index FR-distinction · distinction · French

distinction · rank #4,227 · 17 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,227
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,307
  • PHOTO-FINISH dégâts

Nearest frequency peer: dégâts (+1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « distinction »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « distinction » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

distinction vs distraction
82% similar
distinction vs distinctive
82% similar
distinction vs distinctions
92% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for distinction
PropertyValue
Headworddistinction
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\
Letters11
Frequency rank#4,227
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « distinction »

Cette échelle va du noyau du français courant (gauche) jusqu'à la traîne des formes rares (droite).distinctionse place ici:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « dégâts » (#4,228), « diminuer » (#4,225), « dépasser » (#4,229). Parmi 5,307 lemmes en « D », « distinction » est au #4,227. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around distinction (IPA \dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,227 among 5,307 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for distinction, with forms such as "ddistinction", "disitnction", and "disstinction". 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 6 confusable-pair relationships, "distraction", "distinctive", "distinctions", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

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 distinction, spelled D-I-S-T-I-N-C-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Action de séparer nettement une chose d’une autre.
  2. 2
    Indication, séparation des divers sens qu’une proposition peut recevoir.
  3. 3
    Opération de l’esprit par laquelle on distingue une chose d'une autre.
  4. 4
    Action de mettre une différence entre des personnes ou des choses, ou d’avoir égard à la différence qui est entre elles.
  5. 5
    Ce qui établit ou indique une différence entre des personnes ou des choses.
  6. 6
    Prérogative, honneur ou marque de préférence, d’estime ou d’égard.
  7. 7
    Bon ton, élégance ou dignité des manières.
  8. 8
    Processus de différenciation sociale par lequel des pratiques, goûts ou styles de vie servent à marquer des positions sociales.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how distinction appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Que le nombre important de naissances illégitimes soit une marque d'immoralité, je le veux bien ; encore est-il qu'il faut faire des distinctions et examiner si ce n'est pas plutôt un signe d'irrégularité que d'immoralité.
  2. La distinction que l'on fait entre un astéroïde et une planète est purement arbitraire puisque fondée uniquement sur la dimension.

This word in other languages

distinction(English)distinción(Español)Unterschied(Deutsch)distinção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddistinction
  • disitnction
  • disstinction
  • disticntion
  • distincction
  • distinciton
  • distinctino
  • distinctionn
  • distinctoin
  • distincttion
  • distinnction
  • distintcion
  • distniction
  • disttinction
  • ditsinction
  • dsitinction
  • idstinction

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of distinction - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddistinction1disitnction2disstinction1disticntion2distincction1distinciton2distinctino2distinctionn1
Edit distance from "distinction"

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

How do you spell "distinction"?
"distinction" is spelled D-I-S-T-I-N-C-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is \dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\.
What does "distinction" mean?
As a noun, "distinction" means: Action de séparer nettement une chose d’une autre.
What words are commonly confused with "distinction"?
"distinction" is commonly confused with "distraction", "distinctive", "distinctions". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "distinction"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "distinction" is \dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "distinction" come from?
"distinction" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "distinction", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

financières#4,235catholiques#4,216Alternative#4,203énergétique#4,201

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

correctement17 variantsphotographe17 variantspossibilités17 variantsfrancophone17 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list