membresvsmètresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#480
“membres” frequency rank
#1,068
“mètres” frequency rank
1548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature membres mètres
Definition Pluriel de membre. Pluriel de mètre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set membres and mètres apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
membres
6 ch
mètres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. membres (\mɑ̃bʁ\) and mètres (\mɛtʁ\) 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 1548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

membres is recorded at frequency rank #480, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɑ̃bʁ\. mètres is at rank #1,068, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛtʁ\.

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 1548, this pair ranks #437,855 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of membres vs mètres

Shared letters: emrs. Private to "membres": b. Private to "mètres": .

"membres" · 7 letters · shape CVCCCVC  ·  "mètres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • membresemmbres · mebmres · membbres · membress · membrres · membrse · memmbres · memrbes

Frequency comparison

membres#480
mètres#1,068

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "membres" and "mètres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɑ̃bʁ\ versus \mɛtʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "membres" or "mètres"?
"membres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #480 in our French list, against #1,068 for "mètres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering membres vs mètres

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 “membres” 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