Which to use
“méfier” and “méfiez” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,910
- “méfier” frequency rank
- #25,053
- “méfiez” frequency rank
- 35963
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | méfier | méfiez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ne pas se fier à quelqu’un, à ce qu’il dit, à ce qu’il fait paraître, parce qu’on le soupçonne de ne pas être sincère ni sûr. | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de méfier. |
Same sound, different letters: méfier vs méfiez
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. méfier and méfiez follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Homophone desk: méfier vs méfiez
This is the hard kind. méfier and méfiez are pronounced identically (\me.fje\) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by a single letter - r in “méfier” becomes z in “méfiez”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35963, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
méfier is recorded at frequency rank #10,910, classified as averb, pronounced \me.fje\. méfiez is at rank #25,053, tagged as averb, pronounced \me.fje\.
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 35963, this pair ranks #272,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of méfier vs méfiez
Shared letters: efimé. Private to "méfier": r. Private to "méfiez": z.
"méfier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "méfiez" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "méfier" for "méfiez" ever safe?
Frequency check: "méfier" vs "méfiez" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "méfier" / "méfiez". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "méfier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "méfiez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #272,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "méfier" and "méfiez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "méfiez vs Meier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #272,945 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.