Which to use
“system” and “systems” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,244
- “system” frequency rank
- #18,887
- “systems” frequency rank
- 28131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | system | systems |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Système. | Pluriel de system. |
Where the eye mixes system and systems
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses system with systems
A purely visual mix-up. system (\ˈsɪs.təm\) and systems (\ˈsɪs.təmz\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “system” sits inside “systems”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
system is recorded at frequency rank #9,244, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈsɪs.təm\. systems is at rank #18,887, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈsɪs.təmz\.
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 28131, this pair ranks #324,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of system vs systems
Shared letters: emsty. Private to "system": -. Private to "systems": -.
"system" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "systems" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "system" and "systems" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "system" vs "systems" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "system" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "systems" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #324,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "system" and "systems" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sisters vs systems". 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 #324,727 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.