Which to use
“mêlent” and “mettent” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,945
- “mêlent” frequency rank
- #2,088
- “mettent” frequency rank
- 18033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mêlent | mettent |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de mêler. | Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de mettre. |
Where the eye mixes mêlent and mettent
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mêlent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against mettent's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mêlent and mettent
A purely visual mix-up. mêlent (\mɛl\) and mettent (\mɛt\) 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 18033, 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\. mettent is at rank #2,088, tagged as averb, pronounced \mɛt\.
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 18033, this pair ranks #380,306 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mêlent vs mettent
Shared letters: emnt. Private to "mêlent": lê. Private to "mettent": -.
"mêlent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "mettent" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mettent ← emttent · metent · metetnt · mettennt · mettentt · mettetn · mettnet · mmettent
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mêlent" and "mettent" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mêlent" or "mettent"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mêlent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mettent" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,306 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mêlent" and "mettent" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "méfient vs mêlent". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #380,306 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.