Which to use
“mille” is an adjective and “mole” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,924
- “mille” frequency rank
- #38,923
- “mole” frequency rank
- 40847
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mille | mole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dix fois cent unités, 10³ | Unité de mesure de quantité de matière du Système international, dont le symbole est mol. Une mole contient autant de particules individuelles qu’il y a d’atomes dans 12 grammes de carbone 12 ; ce nombre est appelé nombre d’Avogadro, et est de l’ordre de 6,022×10²³. |
Where the eye mixes mille and mole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mille runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against mole's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mille with mole
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mille is \mil\ while mole is \mɔl\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mille is recorded at frequency rank #1,924, classified as anadj, pronounced \mil\. mole is at rank #38,923, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔl\.
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 40847, this pair ranks #237,460 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mille vs mole
Shared letters: elm. Private to "mille": i. Private to "mole": o.
"mille" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mille" and "mole" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mille" or "mole"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mille" and "mole" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mille" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,460 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mille" and "mole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moire vs mole". 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 #237,460 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.