avonsvsavouonsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“avons” and “avouons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#242
“avons” frequency rank
#32,695
“avouons” frequency rank
32937
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature avons avouons
Definition Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de avoir. Première personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe avouer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set avons and avouons apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
avons
7 ch
avouons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. avons (\a.vɔ̃\) and avouons (\a.vwɔ̃\) 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 32937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

avons is recorded at frequency rank #242, classified as averb, pronounced \a.vɔ̃\. avouons is at rank #32,695, tagged as averb, pronounced \a.vwɔ̃\.

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 32937, this pair ranks #293,968 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of avons vs avouons

Shared letters: anosv. Private to "avons": -. Private to "avouons": u.

"avons" · 5 letters · shape VCVCC  ·  "avouons" · 7 letters · shape VCVVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • avonsaovns · avnos · avonns · avonss · avosn · avvons · vaons
  • avouonsaovuons · avoouns · avounos · avouonns · avouonss · avouosn · avuoons · avvouons

Frequency comparison

avons#242
avouons#32,695

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "avons" and "avouons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\a.vɔ̃\ versus \a.vwɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "avons" or "avouons"?
"avons" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #242 in our French list, against #32,695 for "avouons". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering avons vs avouons

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 “avons” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list