Which to use
“mépris” and “mères” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,964
- “mépris” frequency rank
- #4,253
- “mères” frequency rank
- 9217
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mépris | mères |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sentiment par lequel on juge une personne ou une chose indigne d’estime, d’égards, d’attention. | Pluriel de mère. |
Where the eye mixes mépris and mères
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mépris runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against mères's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mépris and mères
A purely visual mix-up. mépris (\me.pʁi\) and mères (\mɛʁ\) 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 9217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mépris is recorded at frequency rank #4,964, classified as anoun, pronounced \me.pʁi\. mères is at rank #4,253, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛʁ\.
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 9217, this pair ranks #417,418 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mépris vs mères
Shared letters: mrs. Private to "mépris": ipé. Private to "mères": eè.
"mépris" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mères" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mépris" and "mères" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mépris" vs "mères" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mépris" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #417,418 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mépris" and "mères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mépris vs méprisés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #417,418 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.