mentalevsmentauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,958
“mentale” frequency rank
#12,811
“mentaux” frequency rank
17769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mentale mentaux
Definition Féminin singulier de mental. Masculin pluriel de mental.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mentale and mentaux apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
mentale
7 ch
mentaux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mentale (\mɑ̃.tal\) and mentaux (\mɑ̃.to\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mentale is recorded at frequency rank #4,958, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɑ̃.tal\. mentaux is at rank #12,811, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɑ̃.to\.

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 17769, this pair ranks #381,573 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mentale vs mentaux

Shared letters: aemnt. Private to "mentale": l. Private to "mentaux": ux.

"mentale" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "mentaux" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mentaleemntale · menatle · menntale · mentael · mentalle · mentlae · menttale · metnale
  • mentauxemntaux · menatux · menntaux · mentauxx · mentaxu · menttaux · mentuax · metnaux

Frequency comparison

mentale#4,958
mentaux#12,811

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mentale" and "mentaux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɑ̃.tal\ versus \mɑ̃.to\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mentale" or "mentaux"?
"mentale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,958 in our French list, against #12,811 for "mentaux". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mentale vs mentaux

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 “mentale” 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