Which to use
“distinction” and “distinctions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,227
- “distinction” frequency rank
- #14,908
- “distinctions” frequency rank
- 19135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | distinction | distinctions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de séparer nettement une chose d’une autre. | Pluriel de distinction. |
Same sound, different letters: distinction vs distinctions
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 11 letters. distinction runs 11 letters (CVCCVCCCVVC) against distinctions's 12 (CVCCVCCCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - distinction and distinctions
This is the hard kind. distinction and distinctions are pronounced identically (\dis.tɛ̃k.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) - “distinction” sits inside “distinctions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
distinction is recorded at frequency rank #4,227, classified as anoun, pronounced \dis.tɛ̃k.sjɔ̃\. distinctions is at rank #14,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dis.tɛ̃k.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 19135, this pair ranks #374,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of distinction vs distinctions
Shared letters: cdinost. Private to "distinction": -. Private to "distinctions": -.
"distinction" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVVC · "distinctions" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- distinction ← ddistinction · disitnction · disstinction · disticntion · distincction · distinciton · distinctino · distinctionn
- distinctions ← ddistinctions · disitnctions · disstinctions · disticntions · distincctions · distincitons · distinctinos · distinctionns
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "distinction" and "distinctions" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "distinction" or "distinctions"?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "distinction" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "distinctions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #374,802 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "distinction" and "distinctions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "distinctifs vs distinctions". 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 #374,802 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.