Which to use
“motions” and “moutons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,452
- “motions” frequency rank
- #7,089
- “moutons” frequency rank
- 36541
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | motions | moutons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de motion. | Pluriel de mouton. |
Where the eye mixes motions and moutons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. motions (CVCVVCC) and moutons (CVVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses motions with moutons
A purely visual mix-up. motions (\mɔ.sjɔ̃\) and moutons (\mu.tɔ̃\) 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 36541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
motions is recorded at frequency rank #29,452, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔ.sjɔ̃\. moutons is at rank #7,089, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mu.tɔ̃\.
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 36541, this pair ranks #268,895 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of motions vs moutons
Shared letters: mnost. Private to "motions": i. Private to "moutons": u.
"motions" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "moutons" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "motions" for "moutons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "motions" or "moutons"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "motions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moutons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #268,895 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "motions" and "moutons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "montons vs motions". 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 #268,895 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.