DepressionvsdépressionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,251
“Depression” frequency rank
#26,704
“dépressions” frequency rank
65955
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Depression dépressions
Definition Manque de joie, tristesse désespoir. Pluriel de dépression.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Depression and dépressions apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
Depression
11 ch
dépressions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Depression (\depʁɛˈsi̯oːn\) and dépressions (\de.pʁe.sjɔ̃\) 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 65955, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Depression is recorded at frequency rank #39,251, classified as anoun, pronounced \depʁɛˈsi̯oːn\. dépressions is at rank #26,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced \de.pʁe.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 65955, this pair ranks #69,995 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Depression vs dépressions

Shared letters: deinoprs. Private to "Depression": -. Private to "dépressions": é.

"Depression" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC  ·  "dépressions" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Depressionddepression · deperssion · deppression · depresion · depresison · depressino · depressionn · depressoin

Frequency comparison

Depression#39,251
dépressions#26,704

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Depression" and "dépressions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\depʁɛˈsi̯oːn\ versus \de.pʁe.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Depression" or "dépressions"?
"dépressions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,704 in our French list, against #39,251 for "Depression". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Depression vs dépressions

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 “Depression” 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