Which to use
“maux” and “moue” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,412
- “maux” frequency rank
- #29,453
- “moue” frequency rank
- 35865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maux | moue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de mal. | Grimace que l’on fait en rapprochant et en allongeant les lèvres, en signe de dérision ou de mécontentement. |
Where the eye mixes maux and moue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maux vs moue
A purely visual mix-up. maux (\mo\) and moue (\mu\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maux is recorded at frequency rank #6,412, classified as anoun, pronounced \mo\. moue is at rank #29,453, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mu\.
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 35865, this pair ranks #273,687 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maux vs moue
Shared letters: mu. Private to "maux": ax. Private to "moue": eo.
"maux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "moue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "maux" and "moue" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "maux" or "moue" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #273,687 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maux" and "moue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moue vs mud". 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 #273,687 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.