Which to use
“néon” and “néons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,935
- “néon” frequency rank
- #37,952
- “néons” frequency rank
- 70887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | néon | néons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Élément chimique de numéro atomique 10 et de symbole Ne qui fait partie des gaz nobles. | Pluriel de néon. |
Same sound, different letters: néon vs néons
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters. néon runs 4 letters (CVVC) against néons's 5 (CVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Homophone desk: néon vs néons
This is the hard kind. néon and néons are pronounced identically (\ne.ɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. 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) - “néon” sits inside “néons”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
néon is recorded at frequency rank #32,935, classified as anoun, pronounced \ne.ɔ̃\. néons is at rank #37,952, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ne.ɔ̃\.
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 70887, this pair ranks #49,601 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of néon vs néons
Shared letters: noé. Private to "néon": -. Private to "néons": s.
"néon" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "néons" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "néon" for "néons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "néon" or "néons"?
What to do next
You've separated the homophone pair "néon" / "néons". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "néon" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "néons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,601 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "néon" and "néons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nenni vs néons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,601 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.