percussionsvspermissionsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,368
“percussions” frequency rank
#35,637
“permissions” frequency rank
58005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature percussions permissions
Definition Pluriel de percussion. Pluriel de permission.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set percussions and permissions apart are highlighted. They share 9 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

11 ch
percussions
11 ch
permissions

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. percussions (\pɛʁ.ky.sjɔ̃\) and permissions (\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 58005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

percussions is recorded at frequency rank #22,368, classified as anoun, pronounced \pɛʁ.ky.sjɔ̃\. permissions is at rank #35,637, 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 58005, this pair ranks #111,620 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of percussions vs permissions

Shared letters: einoprs. Private to "percussions": cu. Private to "permissions": m.

"percussions" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCC  ·  "permissions" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • percussionseprcussions · pecrussions · perccussions · percsusions · percusions · percusisons · percussinos · percussionns
  • permissionseprmissions · pemrissions · perimssions · permisions · permisisons · permissinos · permissionns · permissionss

Frequency comparison

percussions#22,368
permissions#35,637

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "percussions" and "permissions" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\pɛʁ.ky.sjɔ̃\ versus \pɛʁ.mi.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "percussions" or "permissions"?
"percussions" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,368 in our French list, against #35,637 for "permissions". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering percussions vs permissions

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 “percussions” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list