mendèsvsmettesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#34,185
“mendès” frequency rank
#34,626
“mettes” frequency rank
68811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mendès mettes
Definition Verre de lait consommé dans un bistro Pluriel de mette.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mendès and mettes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mendès
6 ch
mettes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mendès (\mɛ̃.dɛs\) and mettes (\mɛt\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mendès is recorded at frequency rank #34,185, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛ̃.dɛs\. mettes is at rank #34,626, tagged as anoun, 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 68811, this pair ranks #57,593 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mendès vs mettes

Shared letters: ems. Private to "mendès": dnè. Private to "mettes": t.

"mendès" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mettes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mettesemttes · metes · metets · mettess · mettse · mmettes · mtetes

Frequency comparison

mendès#34,185
mettes#34,626

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mendès" and "mettes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛ̃.dɛs\ versus \mɛt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mendès" or "mettes"?
"mendès" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,185 in our French list, against #34,626 for "mettes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mendès vs mettes

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 “mendès” 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