Which to use
“maillons” and “millions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,037
- “maillons” frequency rank
- #509
- “millions” frequency rank
- 44546
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maillons | millions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de maillon. | Pluriel de million. |
Where the eye mixes maillons and millions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. maillons (CVVCCVCC) and millions (CVCCVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses maillons with millions
A purely visual mix-up. maillons (\mɑ.jɔ̃\) and millions (\mi.ljɔ̃\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44546, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maillons is recorded at frequency rank #44,037, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɑ.jɔ̃\. millions is at rank #509, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi.ljɔ̃\.
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 44546, this pair ranks #209,668 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maillons vs millions
Shared letters: ilmnos. Private to "maillons": a. Private to "millions": -.
"maillons" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC · "millions" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maillons" for "millions" ever safe?
Which is more common, "maillons" or "millions"?
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 "maillons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "millions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #209,668 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maillons" and "millions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maillons vs moellons". 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 #209,668 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.