Which to use
“tensions” and “tessons” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,614
- “tensions” frequency rank
- #47,646
- “tessons” frequency rank
- 53260
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tensions | tessons |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de tension. | Pluriel de tesson. |
Where the eye mixes tensions and tessons
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tensions runs 8 letters (CVCCVVCC) against tessons's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tensions vs tessons
A purely visual mix-up. tensions (\tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\) and tessons (\tɛ.sɔ̃\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tensions is recorded at frequency rank #5,614, classified as anoun, pronounced \tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. tessons is at rank #47,646, tagged as anoun, pronounced \tɛ.sɔ̃\.
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 53260, this pair ranks #141,986 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tensions vs tessons
Shared letters: enost. Private to "tensions": i. Private to "tessons": -.
"tensions" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCC · "tessons" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tensions" and "tessons" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tensions" or "tessons"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tensions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tessons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #141,986 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tensions" and "tessons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Tessin vs tessons". 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 #141,986 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.