Which to use
“méfient” and “mettent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,420
- “méfient” frequency rank
- #2,088
- “mettent” frequency rank
- 43508
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | méfient | mettent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de méfier. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de mettre. |
Where the eye mixes méfient and mettent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: méfient vs mettent
A purely visual mix-up. méfient (\me.fi\) and mettent (\mɛt\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43508, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
méfient is recorded at frequency rank #41,420, classified as averb, pronounced \me.fi\. mettent is at rank #2,088, tagged as averb, pronounced \mɛt\.
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 43508, this pair ranks #217,526 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of méfient vs mettent
Shared letters: emnt. Private to "méfient": fié. Private to "mettent": -.
"méfient" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCC · "mettent" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mettent ← emttent · metent · metetnt · mettennt · mettentt · mettetn · mettnet · mmettent
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "méfient" and "mettent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "méfient" or "mettent"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "méfient" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mettent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #217,526 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "méfient" and "mettent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "méfiante vs méfient". 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 #217,526 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.