joinsvsjointsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: joins is a verb, joints is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“joins” is a verb and “joints” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#24,260
“joins” frequency rank
#9,860
“joints” frequency rank
34120
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature joins joints
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe joindre. Masculin pluriel de joint.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set joins and joints apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
joins
6 ch
joints

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: joins and joints carry the same recorded pronunciation, \ʒwɛ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

joins is recorded at frequency rank #24,260, classified as averb, pronounced \ʒwɛ̃\. joints is at rank #9,860, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʒwɛ̃\.

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 34120, this pair ranks #286,018 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of joins vs joints

Shared letters: ijnos. Private to "joins": -. Private to "joints": t.

"joins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "joints" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • joinsjions · jjoins · joinns · joinss · joisn · jonis · ojins
  • jointsjionts · jjoints · joinnts · joinst · jointss · jointts · joitns · jonits

Frequency comparison

joins#24,260
joints#9,860

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "joins" and "joints" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "joins" is a verb and "joints" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "joins" or "joints"?
"joints" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,860 in our French list, against #24,260 for "joins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering joins vs joints

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “joins”; for an adjective, it's “joints”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “joins” 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