Which to use
“mères” and “Mmes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,253
- “mères” frequency rank
- #42,466
- “Mmes” frequency rank
- 46719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mères | Mmes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de mère. | Pluriel de Mᵐᵉ. |
Where the eye mixes mères and Mmes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mères runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against Mmes's 4 (CCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mères vs Mmes
A purely visual mix-up. mères (\mɛʁ\) and Mmes (\me.dam\) 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 46719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mères is recorded at frequency rank #4,253, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛʁ\. Mmes is at rank #42,466, tagged as anoun, pronounced \me.dam\.
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 46719, this pair ranks #192,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mères vs Mmes
Shared letters: ems. Private to "mères": rè. Private to "Mmes": -.
"mères" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "Mmes" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Mmes ← mems · mmse
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mères" and "Mmes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mères" vs "Mmes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mères" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Mmes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,674 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mères" and "Mmes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mmes vs muer". 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 #192,674 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.