mêléesvsmêlésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mêlées” and “mêlés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,210
“mêlées” frequency rank
#24,299
“mêlés” frequency rank
58509
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mêlées mêlés
Definition Féminin pluriel de mêlé. Masculin pluriel de mêlé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mêlées and mêlés apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mêlées
5 ch
mêlés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mêlées (\mɛ.le\) and mêlés (\me.le\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58509, 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\. mêlés is at rank #24,299, tagged as anadj, 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 58509, this pair ranks #108,641 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mêlées vs mêlés

Shared letters: lmséê. Private to "mêlées": e. Private to "mêlés": -.

"mêlées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "mêlés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

mêlées#34,210
mêlés#24,299

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mêlées" and "mêlés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛ.le\ versus \me.le\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mêlées" or "mêlés"?
"mêlés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,299 in our French list, against #34,210 for "mêlées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mêlées vs mêlés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mêlées” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list