Which to use
“neurones” and “neutrons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,826
- “neurones” frequency rank
- #29,459
- “neutrons” frequency rank
- 42285
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | neurones | neutrons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de neurone. | Pluriel de neutron. |
Where the eye mixes neurones and neutrons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. neurones (CVVCVCVC) and neutrons (CVVCCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: neurones vs neutrons
A purely visual mix-up. neurones (\nø.ʁɔn\) and neutrons (\nøt.ʁɔ̃\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
neurones is recorded at frequency rank #12,826, classified as anoun, pronounced \nø.ʁɔn\. neutrons is at rank #29,459, tagged as anoun, pronounced \nøt.ʁɔ̃\.
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 42285, this pair ranks #226,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of neurones vs neutrons
Shared letters: enorsu. Private to "neurones": -. Private to "neutrons": t.
"neurones" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC · "neutrons" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "neurones" and "neutrons" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "neurones" or "neutrons"?
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 "neurones" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "neutrons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #226,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "neurones" and "neutrons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Neutron vs neutrons". 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 #226,775 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.