Which to use
“Mademoiselle” is a pronoun and “Mlle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,887
- “Mademoiselle” frequency rank
- #9,874
- “Mlle” frequency rank
- 15761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mademoiselle | Mlle |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Titre que l’on donne familièrement à une femme afin de souligner son jeune âge ou son statut de femme célibataire. Note d’usage : En France, son utilisation est interdite dans les documents ayant une valeur officielle. Au Québec, il n’est employé que pour qualifier de très jeunes filles. | Mademoiselle (titre) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Mademoiselle and Mlle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: Mademoiselle and Mlle carry the same recorded pronunciation, \mad.mwa.zɛl\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is apronoun, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 8 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mademoiselle is recorded at frequency rank #5,887, classified as apron, pronounced \mad.mwa.zɛl\. Mlle is at rank #9,874, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mad.mwa.zɛl\.
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 15761, this pair ranks #390,941 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Mademoiselle vs Mlle
Shared letters: elm. Private to "Mademoiselle": adios. Private to "Mlle": -.
"Mademoiselle" · 12 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVCCV · "Mlle" · 4 letters · shape CCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Mademoiselle ← amdemoiselle · maddemoiselle · mademioselle · mademmoiselle · mademoieslle · mademoisele · mademoiselel · mademoislele
- Mlle ← lmle · mlel · mmlle
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Mademoiselle" and "Mlle" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Mademoiselle" or "Mlle"?
Remembering Mademoiselle vs Mlle
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “Mademoiselle”; for a noun, it's “Mlle”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Mademoiselle” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable