Which to use
“maître” and “mètre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #946
- “maître” frequency rank
- #6,113
- “mètre” frequency rank
- 7059
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maître | mètre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne qui exerce son autorité. | Unité de mesure de longueur du Système international, dont le symbole est m. Le mètre est défini de manière universelle depuis 1983 par la longueur du trajet parcouru par la lumière dans le vide en 1/299 792 458 de seconde. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maître and mètre apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
This is the hard kind. maître and mètre are pronounced identically (\mɛtʁ\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7059, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maître is recorded at frequency rank #946, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛtʁ\. mètre is at rank #6,113, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛtʁ\.
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 7059, this pair ranks #424,392 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maître vs mètre
Shared letters: emrt. Private to "maître": aî. Private to "mètre": è.
"maître" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "mètre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maître" and "mètre" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "maître" or "mètre"?
Remembering maître vs mètre
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maître” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable