Which to use
“mestre” and “mètres” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,071
- “mestre” frequency rank
- #1,068
- “mètres” frequency rank
- 33139
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mestre | mètres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grand mât des bâtiments à voiles latines par opposition au mât de trinquet. | Pluriel de mètre. |
Where the eye mixes mestre and mètres
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mestre (CVCCCV) and mètres (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: mestre vs mètres
A purely visual mix-up. mestre (\mɛstʁ\) and mètres (\mɛtʁ\) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33139, 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\. mètres is at rank #1,068, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛtʁ\.
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 33139, this pair ranks #292,619 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mestre vs mètres
Shared letters: emrst. Private to "mestre": -. Private to "mètres": è.
"mestre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV · "mètres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mestre ← emstre · mesrte · messtre · mester · mestrre · mesttre · metsre · mmestre
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mestre" and "mètres" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "mestre" or "mètres" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mestre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mètres" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #292,619 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mestre" and "mètres" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mestre 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 #292,619 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.