mentevsmestreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mente is a verb, mestre is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mente” is a verb and “mestre” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,068
“mente” frequency rank
#32,071
“mestre” frequency rank
64139
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mente mestre
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de mentir. Grand mât des bâtiments à voiles latines par opposition au mât de trinquet.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
mente
6 ch
mestre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mente is \mɑ̃t\ while mestre is \mɛstʁ\. 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 64139, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mente is recorded at frequency rank #32,068, classified as averb, pronounced \mɑ̃t\. mestre is at rank #32,071, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛstʁ\.

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 64139, this pair ranks #78,501 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mente vs mestre

Shared letters: emt. Private to "mente": n. Private to "mestre": rs.

"mente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mestre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • menteemnte · menet · mennte · mentte · metne · mmente · mnete
  • mestreemstre · mesrte · messtre · mester · mestrre · mesttre · metsre · mmestre

Frequency comparison

mente#32,068
mestre#32,071

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mente" and "mestre" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mente" is a verb and "mestre" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mente" or "mestre"?
"mente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,068 in our French list, against #32,071 for "mestre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mente vs mestre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “mente”; for a noun, it's “mestre”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mente” 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