Which to use
“mode” and “mote” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,074
- “mode” frequency rank
- #27,313
- “mote” frequency rank
- 48387
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mode | mote |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Modo, estilo. | Sobrenombre que se le da a una persona, ya sea de forma despectiva o familiar, que deriva de una cualidad (atributo o defecto) física o psíquica, o una circunstancia. |
Where the eye mixes mode and mote
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mode and mote follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: mode vs mote
A purely visual mix-up. mode (/məʊd/) and mote ([ˈmot̪e]) 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 a single letter - d in “mode” becomes t in “mote”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48387, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mode is recorded at frequency rank #21,074, classified as anoun, pronounced /məʊd/. mote is at rank #27,313, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmot̪e].
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 48387, this pair ranks #114,772 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mode vs mote
Shared letters: emo. Private to "mode": d. Private to "mote": t.
"mode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mote" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mode" for "mote" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mode" or "mote"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mote" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #114,772 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mode" and "mote" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "month vs mote". 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 #114,772 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.