Which to use
“pétitions” and “positions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,131
- “pétitions” frequency rank
- #3,030
- “positions” frequency rank
- 24161
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pétitions | positions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pétition. | Pluriel de position. |
Where the eye mixes pétitions and positions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. pétitions and positions follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: pétitions vs positions
A purely visual mix-up. pétitions (\pe.ti.sjɔ̃\) and positions (\pɔ.zi.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 24161, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pétitions is recorded at frequency rank #21,131, classified as anoun, pronounced \pe.ti.sjɔ̃\. positions is at rank #3,030, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pɔ.zi.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 24161, this pair ranks #348,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pétitions vs positions
Shared letters: inopst. Private to "pétitions": é. Private to "positions": -.
"pétitions" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCC · "positions" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- positions ← opsitions · poistions · posiitons · positinos · positionns · positionss · positiosn · positoins
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pétitions" and "positions" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "pétitions" or "positions"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pétitions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "positions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #348,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pétitions" and "positions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pétitions vs punitions". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #348,224 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.