Which to use
“mêlées” is an adjective and “mêler” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,210
- “mêlées” frequency rank
- #9,203
- “mêler” frequency rank
- 43413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mêlées | mêler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de mêlé. | Mettre ensemble des choses et les confondre. |
Where the eye mixes mêlées and mêler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mêlées runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against mêler's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mêlées with mêler
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mêlées is \mɛ.le\ while mêler is \me.le\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mêlées is recorded at frequency rank #34,210, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛ.le\. mêler is at rank #9,203, tagged as averb, pronounced \me.le\.
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 43413, this pair ranks #218,246 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mêlées vs mêler
Shared letters: elmê. Private to "mêlées": sé. Private to "mêler": r.
"mêlées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "mêler" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mêlées" for "mêler" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mêlées" or "mêler"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mêlées" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mêler" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #218,246 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mêlées" and "mêler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malles vs mêlées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #218,246 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.