mêlezvsmenésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,936
“mêlez” frequency rank
#10,358
“menés” frequency rank
49294
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mêlez menés
Definition Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de mêler. Participe passé masculin pluriel de mener.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mêlez and menés apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mêlez
5 ch
menés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mêlez (\mɛ.le\) and menés (\mə.ne\) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mêlez is recorded at frequency rank #38,936, classified as averb, pronounced \mɛ.le\. menés is at rank #10,358, tagged as averb, pronounced \mə.ne\.

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 49294, this pair ranks #171,863 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mêlez vs menés

Shared letters: em. Private to "mêlez": lzê. Private to "menés": nsé.

"mêlez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "menés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

mêlez#38,936
menés#10,358

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mêlez" and "menés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛ.le\ versus \mə.ne\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mêlez" or "menés"?
"menés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,358 in our French list, against #38,936 for "mêlez". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mêlez vs menés

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 “mêlez” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list