métrosvsmicrosTell them apart

Which to use

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

#28,261
“métros” frequency rank
#17,766
“micros” frequency rank
46027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature métros micros
Definition Pluriel de métro. Pluriel de micro.

Where the eye mixes métros and micros

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. métros and micros follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
métros
6 ch
micros

Look-alike desk: métros vs micros

A purely visual mix-up. métros (\me.tʁo\) and micros (\mi.kʁo\) 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 46027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

métros is recorded at frequency rank #28,261, classified as anoun, pronounced \me.tʁo\. micros is at rank #17,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi.kʁo\.

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 46027, this pair ranks #198,184 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of métros vs micros

Shared letters: mors. Private to "métros": té. Private to "micros": ci.

"métros" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "micros" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • micros ← imcros · mciros · miccros · micors · micross · micrros · micrso · mircos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "métros" for "micros" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\me.tʁo\ versus \mi.kʁo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "métros" vs "micros" - which ranks higher?
"micros" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,766 in our French list, against #28,261 for "métros". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "métros" and "micros" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "métros" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "micros" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #198,184 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "métros" and "micros" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "macros vs métros". 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 #198,184 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list