wordvsworksWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“word” and “works” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,941
“word” frequency rank
#28,411
“works” frequency rank
42352
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature word works
Definition Mot. Pluriel de work (« travail, œuvre »).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set word and works apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
word
5 ch
works

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. word (\ˈwɝd\) and works (\ˈwɝks\) 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 42352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

word is recorded at frequency rank #13,941, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝd\. works is at rank #28,411, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝks\.

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 42352, this pair ranks #226,263 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of word vs works

Shared letters: orw. Private to "word": d. Private to "works": ks.

"word" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "works" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • wordowrd · wodr · wordd · worrd · wrod · wword
  • worksowrks · wokrs · workks · workss · worrks · worsk · wroks · wworks

Frequency comparison

word#13,941
works#28,411

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "word" and "works" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈwɝd\ versus \ˈwɝks\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "word" or "works"?
"word" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,941 in our French list, against #28,411 for "works". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering word vs works

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “word” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list