Which to use
“exceptions” and “exemptions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,437
- “exceptions” frequency rank
- #40,257
- “exemptions” frequency rank
- 47694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exceptions | exemptions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de exception. | Pluriel de exemption. |
Where the eye mixes exceptions and exemptions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses exceptions with exemptions
A purely visual mix-up. exceptions (\ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ̃\) and exemptions (\eɡ.zɑ̃p.sjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exceptions is recorded at frequency rank #7,437, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛk.sɛp.sjɔ̃\. exemptions is at rank #40,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced \eɡ.zɑ̃p.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 47694, this pair ranks #184,907 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of exceptions vs exemptions
Shared letters: einopstx. Private to "exceptions": c. Private to "exemptions": m.
"exceptions" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCC · "exemptions" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exceptions ← ecxeptions · excceptions · excepitons · excepptions · exceptinos · exceptionns · exceptionss · exceptiosn
- exemptions ← eexmptions · exemmptions · exempitons · exempptions · exemptinos · exemptionns · exemptionss · exemptiosn
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "exceptions" and "exemptions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "exceptions" vs "exemptions" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "exceptions" and "exemptions" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "exceptions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exemptions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #184,907 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "exceptions" and "exemptions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exemption vs exemptions". 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 #184,907 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.