Which to use
“métrage” and “mirage” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,115
- “métrage” frequency rank
- #17,482
- “mirage” frequency rank
- 23597
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | métrage | mirage |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Action de métrer ou résultat de cette action. | Phénomène dû à l’incurvation des rayons lumineux se réfléchissant sur les couches surchauffées de l’atmosphère voisines du sol et donnant souvent l’impression d’une réflexion sur une grande étendue d’eau. |
Where the eye mixes métrage and mirage
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. métrage runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against mirage's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses métrage with mirage
A purely visual mix-up. métrage (\met.ʁaʒ\) and mirage (\mi.ʁaʒ\) 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 23597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
métrage is recorded at frequency rank #6,115, classified as anoun, pronounced \met.ʁaʒ\. mirage is at rank #17,482, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi.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 23597, this pair ranks #351,534 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of métrage vs mirage
Shared letters: aegmr. Private to "métrage": té. Private to "mirage": i.
"métrage" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "mirage" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mirage ← imrage · miarge · miraeg · miragge · mirgae · mirrage · mmirage · mriage
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "métrage" and "mirage" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "métrage" or "mirage"?
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 "métrage" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mirage" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #351,534 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "métrage" and "mirage" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mirage vs mirages". 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 #351,534 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.