Which to use
“mente” is a verb and “minute” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,068
- “mente” frequency rank
- #1,778
- “minute” frequency rank
- 33846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mente | minute |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent du subjonctif de mentir. | Unité de mesure de temps, compatible avec le Système international, et qui compte soixante secondes. Son symbole est min. |
Where the eye mixes mente and minute
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mente and minute
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mente is \mɑ̃t\ while minute is \mi.nyt\. 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 33846, 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\. minute is at rank #1,778, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi.nyt\.
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 33846, this pair ranks #287,885 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mente vs minute
Shared letters: emnt. Private to "mente": -. Private to "minute": iu.
"mente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "minute" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mente" and "minute" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mente" vs "minute" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "minute" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #287,885 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mente" and "minute" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mente vs meutre". 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 #287,885 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.