Which to use
“direction” and “directions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #565
- “direction” frequency rank
- #7,812
- “directions” frequency rank
- 8377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | direction | directions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de diriger, de régler l’exécution d’une action, d'administrer un établissement ou de conduire une personne. | Pluriel de direction. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set direction and directions apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. direction and directions are pronounced identically (\di.ʁɛk.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) - “direction” sits inside “directions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
direction is recorded at frequency rank #565, classified as anoun, pronounced \di.ʁɛk.sjɔ̃\. directions is at rank #7,812, tagged as anoun, pronounced \di.ʁɛk.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 8377, this pair ranks #420,246 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of direction vs directions
Shared letters: cdeinort. Private to "direction": -. Private to "directions": s.
"direction" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVVC · "directions" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- direction ← ddirection · dierction · dircetion · direcction · direciton · directino · directionn · directoin
- directions ← ddirections · dierctions · dircetions · direcctions · direcitons · directinos · directionns · directionss
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "direction" and "directions" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "direction" or "directions"?
Remembering direction vs directions
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 “direction” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable