milevsmutiléWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mile is a noun, mutilé is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mile” is a noun and “mutilé” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,682
“mile” frequency rank
#30,272
“mutilé” frequency rank
45954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mile mutilé
Definition Unité de mesure de longueur anglo-saxonne, valant 1,760 yards (verges), soit 5,280 pieds, ou encore exactement 1 609,344 mètres. Son symbole est mi. Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe mutiler.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mile
6 ch
mutilé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mile is \majl\ while mutilé is \my.ti.le\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45954, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mile is recorded at frequency rank #15,682, classified as anoun, pronounced \majl\. mutilé is at rank #30,272, tagged as averb, pronounced \my.ti.le\.

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 45954, this pair ranks #198,755 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mile vs mutilé

Shared letters: ilm. Private to "mile": e. Private to "mutilé": tué.

"mile" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mutilé" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mileimle · mlie · mmile

Frequency comparison

mile#15,682
mutilé#30,272

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mile" and "mutilé" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mile" is a noun and "mutilé" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mile" or "mutilé"?
"mile" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,682 in our French list, against #30,272 for "mutilé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mile vs mutilé

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mile”; for a verb, it's “mutilé”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mile” 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