Which to use
“bataille” and “bataillon” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,650
- “bataille” frequency rank
- #8,071
- “bataillon” frequency rank
- 9721
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bataille | bataillon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Combat général ordonné entre deux armées. → voir champ de bataille, cheval de bataille, plan de bataille, bataille navale, bataille aérienne, en ordre de bataille et … | Troupe en ordre de bataille. |
Where the eye mixes bataille and bataillon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses bataille with bataillon
A purely visual mix-up. bataille (\ba.tɑj\) and bataillon (\ba.ta.jɔ̃\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bataille is recorded at frequency rank #1,650, classified as anoun, pronounced \ba.tɑj\. bataillon is at rank #8,071, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ba.ta.jɔ̃\.
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 9721, this pair ranks #415,650 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bataille vs bataillon
Shared letters: abilt. Private to "bataille": e. Private to "bataillon": no.
"bataille" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCCV · "bataillon" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "bataille" and "bataillon" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "bataille" vs "bataillon" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "bataille" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bataillon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,650 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bataille" and "bataillon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bâillon vs bataillon". 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 #415,650 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.