mètresvsmuettesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mètres is a noun, muettes is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mètres” is a noun and “muettes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,068
“mètres” frequency rank
#48,672
“muettes” frequency rank
49740
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mètres muettes
Definition Pluriel de mètre. Féminin pluriel de muet.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mètres and muettes apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mètres
7 ch
muettes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mètres is \mɛtʁ\ while muettes is \mɥɛt\. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49740, 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\. muettes is at rank #48,672, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɥɛt\.

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 49740, this pair ranks #168,191 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mètres vs muettes

Shared letters: emst. Private to "mètres": . Private to "muettes": u.

"mètres" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "muettes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • muettesmeuttes · mmuettes · muetes · muetets · muettess · muettse · mutetes · umettes

Frequency comparison

mètres#1,068
muettes#48,672

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mètres" and "muettes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mètres" is a noun and "muettes" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mètres" or "muettes"?
"mètres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,068 in our French list, against #48,672 for "muettes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mètres vs muettes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mètres”; for an adjective, it's “muettes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mètres” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list