Which to use
“maîtres” is an adjective and “mètres” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,083
- “maîtres” frequency rank
- #1,068
- “mètres” frequency rank
- 5151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maîtres | mètres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de maître. | Pluriel de mètre. |
Same sound, different letters: maîtres vs mètres
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. maîtres runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against mètres's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - maîtres and mètres
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: maîtres and mètres carry the same recorded pronunciation, \mɛtʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maîtres is recorded at frequency rank #4,083, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛtʁ\. mètres is at rank #1,068, 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 5151, this pair ranks #429,766 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maîtres vs mètres
Shared letters: emrst. Private to "maîtres": aî. Private to "mètres": è.
"maîtres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "mètres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maîtres" for "mètres" ever safe?
Frequency check: "maîtres" vs "mètres" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mètres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,766 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maîtres" and "mètres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mètres vs muettes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #429,766 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.