Which to use
“microbes” and “micros” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,501
- “microbes” frequency rank
- #17,766
- “micros” frequency rank
- 38267
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | microbes | micros |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de microbe. | Pluriel de micro. |
Where the eye mixes microbes and micros
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between microbes and micros
A purely visual mix-up. microbes (\mi.kʁɔb\) 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 differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38267, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
microbes is recorded at frequency rank #20,501, classified as anoun, pronounced \mi.kʁɔb\. 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 38267, this pair ranks #256,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of microbes vs micros
Shared letters: cimors. Private to "microbes": be. Private to "micros": -.
"microbes" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "micros" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "microbes" for "micros" ever safe?
Frequency check: "microbes" vs "micros" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "microbes" 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 #256,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "microbes" and "micros" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "macros vs micros". 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 #256,465 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.