millevsmouilléWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,924
“mille” frequency rank
#12,622
“mouillé” frequency rank
14546
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mille mouillé
Definition Dix fois cent unités, 10³ Qui est imbibé ou recouvert de gouttes de liquide, généralement de l’eau ; humide.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
mille
7 ch
mouillé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mille (\mil\) and mouillé (\mu.je\) 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 14546, 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\. mouillé is at rank #12,622, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mu.je\.

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 14546, this pair ranks #396,203 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mille vs mouillé

Shared letters: ilm. Private to "mille": e. Private to "mouillé": oué.

"mille" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mouillé" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • milleimlle · milel · mlile · mmille

Frequency comparison

mille#1,924
mouillé#12,622

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mille" and "mouillé" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mil\ versus \mu.je\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mille" or "mouillé"?
"mille" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,924 in our French list, against #12,622 for "mouillé". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mille vs mouillé

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mille” 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