Which to use
“tenons” and “tensions” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,371
- “tenons” frequency rank
- #5,614
- “tensions” frequency rank
- 19985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tenons | tensions |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de tenon. | Pluriel de tension. |
Where the eye mixes tenons and tensions
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between tenons and tensions
A purely visual mix-up. tenons (\tə.nɔ̃\) and tensions (\tɑ̃.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 19985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tenons is recorded at frequency rank #14,371, classified as anoun, pronounced \tə.nɔ̃\. tensions is at rank #5,614, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃.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 19985, this pair ranks #370,510 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of tenons vs tensions
Shared letters: enost. Private to "tenons": -. Private to "tensions": i.
"tenons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "tensions" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tenons" for "tensions" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tenons" vs "tensions" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "tenons" and "tensions" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tenons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tensions" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #370,510 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tenons" and "tensions" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tenons vs thons". 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 #370,510 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.