Which to use
“words” and “work” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,294
- “words” frequency rank
- #13,297
- “work” frequency rank
- 40591
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | words | work |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de word. | Travail. |
Where the eye mixes words and work
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses words with work
A purely visual mix-up. words (\ˈwɝdz\) and work (\ˈwɝk\) 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 40591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
words is recorded at frequency rank #27,294, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝdz\. work is at rank #13,297, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝk\.
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 40591, this pair ranks #239,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of words vs work
Shared letters: orw. Private to "words": ds. Private to "work": k.
"words" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "work" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "words" and "work" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "words" or "work"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "words" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "work" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #239,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "words" and "work" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "words vs worlds". 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 #239,373 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.