The Complete List of
English Spelling Rules

Lesson 19: -sion, -tion, or -cion

In this series of lessons, you will learn useful spelling rules in English.

This lesson will give you helpful guidelines to know when to use the noun suffixes -tion, -sion, and -cion.


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All three of these suffixes create nouns. You will see them quite often.

The most common suffixes by far are -tion and -sion. The suffix -cion is used very infrequently.

1. -sion with a ZH sound

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It is important to know that the first letter of the suffix -sion can have different pronunciations. The vowels will always have a short U sound. In some words, the s can be pronounced with a ZH sound. For example, this happens when the -sion ending comes after a vowel.

If you hear the "ZHun" sound at the end of a word, it will have a -sion ending.

Here are some of the most common examples with this pronunciation:

• collision
• division
• explosion
• decision
• seclusion
• revision
• confusion
• conclusion
• occasion
• vision
• invasion
• exclusion
• precision
• fusion
• persuasion
• intrusion

2. -sion after the letters L, N, or R

If the final letter of the word before the noun suffix is l, n, or r, the ending will usually be -sion.

After an r ending, -sion will have the ZH sound seen above. After an l or an n, it will have a SH sound, "SHun."

For example:

• compulsion
• expulsion
• propulsion
• extension
• tension
• apprehension
• expansion
• pension
• mansion
• comprehension
• dimension
• suspension
• diversion
• immersion
• version
• conversion

3. -sion for root words ending in -mit or -ss

Finally, when the root word we add the noun suffix to ends in -ss or -mit, we will use -sion. For these words, you will see that the root takes a final s so that the ending is -ssion.

For example, the verb "permit" becomes the noun "permission." The verb "express" becomes the noun "expression."

Here are some examples:

• commission
• discussion
• session
• recession
• profession
• mission
• admission
• passion
• depression
• succession
• transmission
• submission
• emission
• aggression
• concession
• compassion
• percussion

4. -tion after letters other than L, N, or R

The -tion ending will always have a SH sound followed by a short U sound: "SHun." It is used after letters other than l, n, or r. This is a very common ending for English nouns.

Here are some common nouns with a -tion ending:

• information
• education
• position
• action
• section
• situation
• condition
• production
• population
• application
• operation
• election
• association
• station
• function
• organization
• direction
• competition
• institution
• solution
• communication
• protection
• option
• contribution
• reaction

5. -tion exceptions after N or R

However, there are a few words in English that have a -tion ending after an n or an r. You should learn these exceptions.

For example:

• mention
• attention
• intention
• convention
• prevention
• detention
• proportion
• assertion
• distortion
• exertion
• extortion

6. -cion 

There are only a few words in English that end in -cion, so you can memorize them.

They are:

• suspicion
• coercion
• scion

Review

So, let's review what we have learned about the noun suffixes -sion, -tion, and -cion in English:

1. The suffixes -tion and -sion are quite common. There are only a few words in English with the -cion suffix.
   
   
2. If the suffix is pronounced "ZHun," it will be spelled -sion. However, this ending can also be pronounced "SHun."
    
   
3. If the last letter before the noun suffix is l, n, or r, the word will take -sion. There are a few exceptions when these words will take -tion.
   
   
4. The -sion suffix is also used for root words ending in -mit or -ss. In these cases, there will be a final s before the suffix, meaning that the word will end in -ssion.
   
   
5. After letters other than l, n, or r, the -tion suffix is used. It is always pronounced "SHun."

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