collectionvsconvectionWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,512
“collection” frequency rank
#43,865
“convection” frequency rank
45377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature collection convection
Definition Réunion de plusieurs objets qui ont ensemble quelque rapport. Mode de transfert des propriétés d'un fluide (température et chaleur ; composition chimique) par mouvement des particules de celui-ci, c'est-à-dire par déplacement global de matière (impliquant aussi, au niveau des surfaces d'échange, la diffusion).

Where the eye mixes collection and convection

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. collection and convection follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

10 ch
collection
10 ch
convection

Why the eye confuses collection with convection

A purely visual mix-up. collection (\kɔ.lɛk.sjɔ̃\) and convection (\kɔ̃.vɛk.sjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

collection is recorded at frequency rank #1,512, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ.lɛk.sjɔ̃\. convection is at rank #43,865, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.vɛk.sjɔ̃\.

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 45377, this pair ranks #203,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of collection vs convection

Shared letters: ceinot. Private to "collection": l. Private to "convection": v.

"collection" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC  ·  "convection" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • collection ← ccollection · clolection · colection · colelction · collcetion · collecction · colleciton · collectino
  • convection ← cconvection · cnovection · conevction · connvection · convcetion · convecction · conveciton · convectino

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "collection" and "convection" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ.lɛk.sjɔ̃\ versus \kɔ̃.vɛk.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "collection" or "convection" show up more?
"collection" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,512 in our French list, against #43,865 for "convection". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "collection" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "convection" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #203,157 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "collection" and "convection" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contention vs convection". 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 #203,157 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list