Which to use
“mètres” and “meules” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,068
- “mètres” frequency rank
- #32,908
- “meules” frequency rank
- 33976
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mètres | meules |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de mètre. | Pluriel de meule. |
Where the eye mixes mètres and meules
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mètres (CVCCVC) and meules (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses mètres with meules
A purely visual mix-up. mètres (\mɛtʁ\) and meules (\møl\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mètres is recorded at frequency rank #1,068, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛtʁ\. meules is at rank #32,908, tagged as anoun, pronounced \møl\.
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 33976, this pair ranks #286,987 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mètres vs meules
Shared letters: ems. Private to "mètres": rtè. Private to "meules": lu.
"mètres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "meules" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- meules ← emules · melues · meuels · meuless · meulles · meulse · mmeules · mueles
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mètres" for "meules" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mètres" or "meules"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mètres" and "meules" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mètres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meules" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #286,987 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mètres" and "meules" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "meublés vs meules". 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 #286,987 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.