mestrevsmesureWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,071
“mestre” frequency rank
#520
“mesure” frequency rank
32591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mestre mesure
Definition Grand mât des bâtiments à voiles latines par opposition au mât de trinquet. Dimension.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
mestre
6 ch
mesure

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mestre (\mɛstʁ\) and mesure (\mə.zyʁ\) 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 a single letter - t in “mestre” becomes u in “mesure”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mestre is recorded at frequency rank #32,071, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛstʁ\. mesure is at rank #520, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mə.zyʁ\.

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 32591, this pair ranks #296,271 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mestre vs mesure

Shared letters: emrs. Private to "mestre": t. Private to "mesure": u.

"mestre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV  ·  "mesure" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mestreemstre · mesrte · messtre · mester · mestrre · mesttre · metsre · mmestre
  • mesureemsure · mesrue · messure · mesuer · mesurre · meusre · mmesure · mseure

Frequency comparison

mestre#32,071
mesure#520

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mestre" and "mesure" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛstʁ\ versus \mə.zyʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mestre" or "mesure"?
"mesure" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #520 in our French list, against #32,071 for "mestre". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mestre vs mesure

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 “mestre” 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