Which to use
“modus” and “moths” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,659
- “modus” frequency rank
- #22,157
- “moths” frequency rank
- 53816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modus | moths |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The arrangement of, or mode of expressing, the terms of a contract or conveyance. | plural of moth |
Where the eye mixes modus and moths
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. modus (CVCVC) and moths (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses modus with moths
A purely visual mix-up. modus (/ˈməʊdəs/) and moths (/mɔθs/) 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 53816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modus is recorded at frequency rank #31,659, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈməʊdəs/. moths is at rank #22,157, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɔθs/.
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 53816, this pair ranks #145,958 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of modus vs moths
Shared letters: mos. Private to "modus": du. Private to "moths": ht.
"modus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "moths" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "modus" and "moths" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "modus" or "moths" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "modus" and "moths" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "modus" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moths" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,958 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modus" and "moths" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magus vs modus". 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 #145,958 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.