Which to use
“pétition” and “pétitions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,597
- “pétition” frequency rank
- #21,131
- “pétitions” frequency rank
- 26728
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pétition | pétitions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de demander. | Pluriel de pétition. |
Same sound, different letters: pétition vs pétitions
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. pétition runs 8 letters (CVCVCVVC) against pétitions's 9 (CVCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - pétition / pétitions
This is the hard kind. pétition and pétitions are pronounced identically (\pe.ti.sjɔ̃\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “pétition” sits inside “pétitions”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26728, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pétition is recorded at frequency rank #5,597, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.ti.sjɔ̃\. pétitions is at rank #21,131, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pe.ti.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 26728, this pair ranks #333,188 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pétition vs pétitions
Shared letters: inopté. Private to "pétition": -. Private to "pétitions": s.
"pétition" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC · "pétitions" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pétition" for "pétitions" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pétition" or "pétitions"?
After this comparison
"pétition" and "pétitions" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "pétition" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pétitions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #333,188 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pétition" and "pétitions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pétitions vs punitions". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #333,188 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.