Which to use
“mêlent” and “mêler” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,945
- “mêlent” frequency rank
- #9,203
- “mêler” frequency rank
- 25148
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mêlent | mêler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de mêler. | Mettre ensemble des choses et les confondre. |
Where the eye mixes mêlent and mêler
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mêlent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) 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 mêlent with mêler
A purely visual mix-up. mêlent (\mɛl\) and mêler (\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 25148, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mêlent is recorded at frequency rank #15,945, classified as averb, pronounced \mɛl\. 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 25148, this pair ranks #342,523 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mêlent vs mêler
Shared letters: elmê. Private to "mêlent": nt. Private to "mêler": r.
"mêlent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "mêler" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mêlent" and "mêler" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mêlent" vs "mêler" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mêlent" 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 #342,523 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mêlent" and "mêler" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Meier vs mêler". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #342,523 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.