Which to use
“régulation” and “relation” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,753
- “régulation” frequency rank
- #1,041
- “relation” frequency rank
- 7794
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | régulation | relation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de réguler. | Lien, rapport d’une chose à une autre. |
Where the eye mixes régulation and relation
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: régulation vs relation
A purely visual mix-up. régulation (\ʁe.ɡy.la.sjɔ̃\) and relation (\ʁə.la.sjɔ̃\) 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 7794, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
régulation is recorded at frequency rank #6,753, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʁe.ɡy.la.sjɔ̃\. relation is at rank #1,041, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʁə.la.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 7794, this pair ranks #422,097 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of régulation vs relation
Shared letters: ailnort. Private to "régulation": gué. Private to "relation": e.
"régulation" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVVC · "relation" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- relation ← erlation · realtion · relaiton · relatino · relationn · relatoin · relattion · rellation
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "régulation" for "relation" ever safe?
Frequency check: "régulation" vs "relation" - 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 "régulation" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "relation" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,097 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "régulation" and "relation" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "régulation vs reputation". 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 #422,097 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.