Which to use
“mec” and “mud” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #519
- “mec” frequency rank
- #49,806
- “mud” frequency rank
- 50325
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mec | mud |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Individu de sexe ou genre masculin. | Boue. |
Where the eye mixes mec and mud
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. mec and mud follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: mec vs mud
A purely visual mix-up. mec (\mɛk\) and mud (\ˈmʌd\) 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 50325, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mec is recorded at frequency rank #519, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛk\. mud is at rank #49,806, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈmʌd\.
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 50325, this pair ranks #163,519 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mec vs mud
Shared letters: m. Private to "mec": ce. Private to "mud": du.
"mec" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mud" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mec" for "mud" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mec" vs "mud" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mud" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #163,519 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mec" and "mud" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mud vs MWh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #163,519 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.