Which to use
“mêlez” is a verb and “mule” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,936
- “mêlez” frequency rank
- #25,051
- “mule” frequency rank
- 63987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mêlez | mule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de mêler. | Femelle du mulet, équidé issu du croisement d’un âne et d’une jument et le plus souvent stérile. |
Where the eye mixes mêlez and mule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mêlez runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against mule's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mêlez vs mule
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mêlez is \mɛ.le\ while mule is \myl\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63987, 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\. mule is at rank #25,051, tagged as anoun, pronounced \myl\.
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 63987, this pair ranks #79,239 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mêlez vs mule
Shared letters: elm. Private to "mêlez": zê. Private to "mule": u.
"mêlez" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mule" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mule ← mlue · mmule · muel · mulle · umle
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mêlez" and "mule" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mêlez" or "mule"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mêlez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #79,239 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mêlez" and "mule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Meier vs mêlez". 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 #79,239 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.