worksvsworldWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,411
“works” frequency rank
#4,200
“world” frequency rank
32611
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature works world
Definition Pluriel de work (« travail, œuvre »). Monde, univers, Terre.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
works
5 ch
world

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. works (\ˈwɝks\) and world (\ˈwɝld\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32611, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

works is recorded at frequency rank #28,411, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝks\. world is at rank #4,200, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈwɝld\.

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 32611, this pair ranks #296,153 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of works vs world

Shared letters: orw. Private to "works": ks. Private to "world": dl.

"works" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC  ·  "world" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • worksowrks · wokrs · workks · workss · worrks · worsk · wroks · wworks
  • worldowrld · wolrd · wordl · worldd · worlld · worrld · wrold · wworld

Frequency comparison

works#28,411
world#4,200

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "works" and "world" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈwɝks\ versus \ˈwɝld\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "works" or "world"?
"world" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,200 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 works vs world

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 “works” 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