mou

\mu\

/\mu\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“mou” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #8,739) as an adjective. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#8,739
frequency rank, French
5,038
“M” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui cède facilement au toucher, qui reçoit facilement l’impression des autres corps.

Corpus desk

Index FR-mou · mou · French

mou · rank #8,739 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,739
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,038
  • PHOTO-FINISH Mitterrand

Nearest frequency peer: Mitterrand (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “mou”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “mou” sits against the nearest ranked French headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mou vs MR
0% similar
mou vs my
33% similar
mou vs ms
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mou
PropertyValue
Headwordmou
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\mu\
Letters3
Frequency rank#8,739
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mou” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).mou lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mou is neighbouring look-alikes ("MR", "my", …), not just typos; it is anadjective pronounced \mu\. Frequency #8,739 among 5,038 “M” headwords. 11 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No generated misspelling entries exist for mou in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "MR", "my", "ms", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is mou, spelled M-O-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui cède facilement au toucher, qui reçoit facilement l’impression des autres corps.
  2. 2
    Qui ne tend pas à reprendre la figure que le choc ou la compression leur a fait perdre, en parlant d'un corps.
  3. 3
    Qualifie les chairs, les organes qui recouvrent le squelette.
  4. 4
    Qualifie un temps, un climat, un air chaud et humide.
  5. 5
    Qui a peu de vigueur.
  6. 6
    Qui est indolent, inactif, qui manque de résolution, d’application.
  7. 7
    Qui est affaibli, énervé par les plaisirs.
  8. 8
    Qui annonce ou qui cause la mollesse.
  9. 9
    Qui indique une faiblesse d’expression, une insuffisance dans le dessin ou dans la couleur.
  10. 10
    Qui subit la mouillure, en parlant des consonnes dans les langues slaves.
  11. 11
    Qui a tendence à arriver, à s'écarter du lit du vent.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mou appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Elle était hideuse ainsi. On voyait derrière ses lèvres relevées, débarrassées de rouge, décolorées et molles, ses dents malpropres ; un bourrelet de graisse saillait sous le menton.
  2. Les parties molles des corps.

Antonyms

durfermedurardent

This word in other languages

soft(English)blando(Español)weich(Deutsch)mole(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mou"?
"mou" is spelled M-O-U. The IPA pronunciation is \mu\.
What does "mou" mean?
As an adjective, "mou" means: Qui cède facilement au toucher, qui reçoit facilement l’impression des autres corps.
What words are commonly confused with "mou"?
"mou" is commonly confused with "MR", "my", "ms". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mou"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mou" is \mu\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mou" come from?
"mou" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mou", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

mar#8,735low#8,731bcp#8,660app#8,652

What to do next

You've looked up "mou". Here's where to go from here.

  • "mou" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "MR". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #8,739 among French headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more French words in the "M" letter cohort. M–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list