Which to use
“mole” and “mot” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,745
- “mole” frequency rank
- #25,484
- “mot” frequency rank
- 37229
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mole | mot |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin. | A witty remark; a witticism; a bon mot. |
Where the eye mixes mole and mot
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mole and mot
A purely visual mix-up. mole (/məʊl/) and mot (/məʊ/) 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 37229, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mole is recorded at frequency rank #11,745, classified as anoun, pronounced /məʊl/. mot is at rank #25,484, tagged as anoun, pronounced /məʊ/.
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 37229, this pair ranks #296,315 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mole vs mot
Shared letters: mo. Private to "mole": el. Private to "mot": t.
"mole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mot" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mole ← mloe · mmole · moel · molle · omle
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mole" for "mot" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mole" vs "mot" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mot" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,315 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mole" and "mot" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Moog vs mot". 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 #296,315 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.