Which to use
“mêlée” and “mètre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,703
- “mêlée” frequency rank
- #6,113
- “mètre” frequency rank
- 15816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mêlée | mètre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Combat opiniâtre, où deux troupes s’attaquent corps-à-corps et se mêlent. | Unité de mesure de longueur du Système international, dont le symbole est m. Le mètre est défini de manière universelle depuis 1983 par la longueur du trajet parcouru par la lumière dans le vide en 1/299 792 458 de seconde. |
Where the eye mixes mêlée and mètre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mêlée and mètre
A purely visual mix-up. mêlée (\me.le\) and mètre (\mɛtʁ\) 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 15816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mêlée is recorded at frequency rank #9,703, classified as anoun, pronounced \me.le\. mètre is at rank #6,113, 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 15816, this pair ranks #390,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mêlée vs mètre
Shared letters: em. Private to "mêlée": léê. Private to "mètre": rtè.
"mêlée" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "mètre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mêlée" and "mètre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mêlée" or "mètre"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mêlée" and "mètre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mêlée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mètre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #390,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mêlée" and "mètre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Meier vs mêlée". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #390,727 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.