Which to use
“ong” and “ons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,860
- “ong” frequency rank
- #30,725
- “ons” frequency rank
- 37585
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ong | ons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Abeille (classificateur con). | Pluriel de on. |
Where the eye mixes ong and ons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between ong and ons
A purely visual mix-up. ong (\ɔŋ˦\) and ons (\ɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - g in “ong” becomes s in “ons”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ong is recorded at frequency rank #6,860, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɔŋ˦\. ons is at rank #30,725, tagged as anoun, pronounced \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 37585, this pair ranks #261,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ong vs ons
Shared letters: no. Private to "ong": g. Private to "ons": s.
"ong" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ons" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ong" for "ons" ever safe?
Which is more common, "ong" or "ons"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ong" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,457 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ong" and "ons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "och vs ons". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #261,457 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.