partitionvsperditionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“partition” and “perdition” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,046
“partition” frequency rank
#28,287
“perdition” frequency rank
38333
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature partition perdition
Definition L’ensemble ou la réunion de toutes les parties d’une composition musicale, écrites les unes au-dessous des autres, de manière à se correspondre exactement. Dégât, dissipation.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set partition and perdition apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
partition
9 ch
perdition

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. partition (\paʁ.ti.sjɔ̃\) and perdition (\pɛʁ.di.sjɔ̃\) 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 38333, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

partition is recorded at frequency rank #10,046, classified as anoun, pronounced \paʁ.ti.sjɔ̃\. perdition is at rank #28,287, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁ.di.sjɔ̃\.

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 38333, this pair ranks #255,982 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of partition vs perdition

Shared letters: inoprt. Private to "partition": a. Private to "perdition": de.

"partition" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC  ·  "perdition" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • partitionaprtition · parittion · parrtition · partiiton · partitino · partitionn · partitoin · partittion
  • perditioneprdition · pedrition · perddition · perdiiton · perditino · perditionn · perditoin · perdittion

Frequency comparison

partition#10,046
perdition#28,287

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "partition" and "perdition" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\paʁ.ti.sjɔ̃\ versus \pɛʁ.di.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "partition" or "perdition"?
"partition" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,046 in our French list, against #28,287 for "perdition". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering partition vs perdition

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “partition” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list