Which to use
“bâtons” and “boutons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,117
- “bâtons” frequency rank
- #6,789
- “boutons” frequency rank
- 18906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | bâtons | boutons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de bâton. | Pluriel de bouton. |
Where the eye mixes bâtons and boutons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between bâtons and boutons
A purely visual mix-up. bâtons (\bɑ.tɔ̃\) and boutons (\bu.tɔ̃\) 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 18906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
bâtons is recorded at frequency rank #12,117, classified as anoun, pronounced \bɑ.tɔ̃\. boutons is at rank #6,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced \bu.tɔ̃\.
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 18906, this pair ranks #376,000 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of bâtons vs boutons
Shared letters: bnost. Private to "bâtons": â. Private to "boutons": u.
"bâtons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "boutons" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- boutons ← bboutons · botuons · bouotns · boutnos · boutonns · boutonss · boutosn · bouttons
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "bâtons" for "boutons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "bâtons" or "boutons"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "bâtons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "boutons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,000 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "bâtons" and "boutons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bâtons vs beton". 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 #376,000 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.