jointvsjointsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“joint” and “joints” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#4,344
“joint” frequency rank
#9,860
“joints” frequency rank
14204
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature joint joints
Definition Qui est joint. Masculin pluriel de joint.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
joint
6 ch
joints

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. joint and joints are pronounced identically (\ʒwɛ̃\) and both work as anadjective. 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) - “joint” sits inside “joints”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

joint is recorded at frequency rank #4,344, classified as anadj, 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 14204, this pair ranks #397,714 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of joint vs joints

Shared letters: ijnot. Private to "joint": -. Private to "joints": s.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • jointjiont · jjoint · joinnt · jointt · joitn · jonit · ojint
  • jointsjionts · jjoints · joinnts · joinst · jointss · jointts · joitns · jonits

Frequency comparison

joint#4,344
joints#9,860

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "joint" and "joints" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ʒwɛ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "joint" or "joints"?
"joint" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,344 in our French list, against #9,860 for "joints". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering joint vs joints

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 “joint” 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