Which to use
“docks” and “dons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,619
- “docks” frequency rank
- #4,067
- “dons” frequency rank
- 29686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | docks | dons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de dock. | Pluriel de don. |
Where the eye mixes docks and dons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses docks with dons
A purely visual mix-up. docks (\dɔk\) and dons (\dɔ̃\) 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 29686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
docks is recorded at frequency rank #25,619, classified as anoun, pronounced \dɔk\. dons is at rank #4,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced \dɔ̃\.
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 29686, this pair ranks #315,113 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of docks vs dons
Shared letters: dos. Private to "docks": ck. Private to "dons": n.
"docks" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "dons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "docks" and "dons" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "docks" or "dons" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "docks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "dons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #315,113 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "docks" and "dons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "docks vs domus". 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 #315,113 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.