mètrevsmoireWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,113
“mètre” frequency rank
#48,051
“moire” frequency rank
54164
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mètre moire
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. Apprêt que reçoivent, par un calandrage spécifique, certaines étoffes de soie, de laine, de coton ou de lin, et qui leur communique un éclat changeant, une apparence ondée et chatoyante.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mètre and moire apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mètre
5 ch
moire

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mètre (\mɛtʁ\) and moire (\mwaʁ\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54164, 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\. moire is at rank #48,051, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mwaʁ\.

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 54164, this pair ranks #135,834 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mètre vs moire

Shared letters: emr. Private to "mètre": . Private to "moire": io.

"mètre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "moire" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • moiremiore · mmoire · moier · moirre · morie · omire

Frequency comparison

mètre#6,113
moire#48,051

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mètre" and "moire" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛtʁ\ versus \mwaʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mètre" or "moire"?
"mètre" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,113 in our French list, against #48,051 for "moire". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mètre vs moire

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 “mètre” 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