configurationvsconfigurationsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,946
“configuration” frequency rank
#24,916
“configurations” frequency rank
32862
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature configuration configurations
Definition Disposition des différents éléments d’un tout. Pluriel de configuration.

Same sound, different letters: configuration vs configurations

Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 13 letters. configuration runs 13 letters (CVCCVCVCVCVVC) against configurations's 14 (CVCCVCVCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

13 ch
configuration
14 ch
configurations

Homophone desk: configuration vs configurations

This is the hard kind. configuration and configurations are pronounced identically (\kɔ̃.fi.ɡy.ʁa.sjɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “configuration” sits inside “configurations”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32862, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

configuration is recorded at frequency rank #7,946, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.fi.ɡy.ʁa.sjɔ̃\. configurations is at rank #24,916, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.fi.ɡy.ʁa.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 32862, this pair ranks #294,470 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of configuration vs configurations

Shared letters: acfginortu. Private to "configuration": -. Private to "configurations": s.

"configuration" · 13 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVC  ·  "configurations" · 14 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • configuration ← cconfiguration · cnofiguration · cofniguration · conffiguration · confgiuration · configguration · configruation · configuartion
  • configurations ← cconfigurations · cnofigurations · cofnigurations · conffigurations · confgiurations · configgurations · configruations · configuartions

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "configuration" and "configurations" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are pronounced the same (\kɔ̃.fi.ɡy.ʁa.sjɔ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "configuration" or "configurations"?
"configuration" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,946 in our French list, against #24,916 for "configurations". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

"configuration" and "configurations" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.

  • Full dictionary entry for "configuration" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "configurations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #294,470 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #294,470 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