Which to use
“mètre” is a noun and “mettez” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,113
- “mètre” frequency rank
- #3,779
- “mettez” frequency rank
- 9892
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mètre | mettez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Unité de mesure de longueur du Système international, dont le symbole est m. Le mètre est défini de manière universelle depuis 1983 par la longueur du trajet parcouru par la lumière dans le vide en 1/299 792 458 de seconde. | Deuxième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent de mettre. |
Where the eye mixes mètre and mettez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mètre with mettez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mètre is \mɛtʁ\ while mettez is \mɛ.te\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9892, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mètre is recorded at frequency rank #6,113, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛtʁ\. mettez is at rank #3,779, tagged as averb, pronounced \mɛ.te\.
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 9892, this pair ranks #415,020 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mètre vs mettez
Shared letters: emt. Private to "mètre": rè. Private to "mettez": z.
"mètre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mettez" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mettez ← emttez · metetz · metez · mettezz · mettze · mmettez · mtetez
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mètre" for "mettez" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mètre" or "mettez"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mètre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mettez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,020 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mètre" and "mettez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Méry vs mètre". 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 #415,020 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.