Which to use
“pions” and “prisons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,827
- “pions” frequency rank
- #7,355
- “prisons” frequency rank
- 26182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pions | prisons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de pion. | Pluriel de prison. |
Where the eye mixes pions and prisons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pions and prisons
A purely visual mix-up. pions (\pjɔ̃\) and prisons (\pʁi.zɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pions is recorded at frequency rank #18,827, classified as anoun, pronounced \pjɔ̃\. prisons is at rank #7,355, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁi.zɔ̃\.
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 26182, this pair ranks #336,652 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of pions vs prisons
Shared letters: inops. Private to "pions": -. Private to "prisons": r.
"pions" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "prisons" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pions" for "prisons" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pions" vs "prisons" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prisons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #336,652 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pions" and "prisons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pions vs pivots". 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 #336,652 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.