Which to use
“percussion” and “permission” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,027
- “percussion” frequency rank
- #6,329
- “permission” frequency rank
- 28356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | percussion | permission |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Choc résultant de l’action brusque d’un corps sur un autre. | Autorisation qui donne le pouvoir, la liberté de faire, de dire, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set percussion and permission apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. percussion (\pɛʁ.ky.sjɔ̃\) and permission (\pɛʁ.mi.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 28356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
percussion is recorded at frequency rank #22,027, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁ.ky.sjɔ̃\. permission is at rank #6,329, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁ.mi.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 28356, this pair ranks #323,339 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of percussion vs permission
Shared letters: einoprs. Private to "percussion": cu. Private to "permission": m.
"percussion" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC · "permission" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- percussion ← eprcussion · pecrussion · perccussion · percsusion · percusion · percusison · percussino · percussionn
- permission ← eprmission · pemrission · perimssion · permision · permisison · permissino · permissionn · permissoin
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "percussion" and "permission" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "percussion" or "permission"?
Remembering percussion vs permission
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 “percussion” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable