messagesvsmétragesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,134
“messages” frequency rank
#13,843
“métrages” frequency rank
15977
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature messages métrages
Definition Pluriel de message. Pluriel de métrage.

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
messages
8 ch
métrages

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. messages (\me.saʒ\) and métrages (\met.ʁaʒ\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

messages is recorded at frequency rank #2,134, classified as anoun, pronounced \me.saʒ\. métrages is at rank #13,843, tagged as anoun, pronounced \met.ʁaʒ\.

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 15977, this pair ranks #389,969 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of messages vs métrages

Shared letters: aegms. Private to "messages": -. Private to "métrages": rté.

"messages" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC  ·  "métrages" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • messagesemssages · mesages · mesasges · messaegs · messagess · messagges · messagse · messgaes

Frequency comparison

messages#2,134
métrages#13,843

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "messages" and "métrages" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\me.saʒ\ versus \met.ʁaʒ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "messages" or "métrages"?
"messages" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,134 in our French list, against #13,843 for "métrages". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering messages vs métrages

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 “messages” 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