Which to use
“mines” and “modes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,341
- “mines” frequency rank
- #4,588
- “modes” frequency rank
- 7929
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mines | modes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de mine. | Ensemble de parure que l’on rajoute à un vêtement, dentelles, plumes, etc. colifichet. Autrefois, l‘apanage des modistes. |
Where the eye mixes mines and modes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mines and modes
A purely visual mix-up. mines (\min\) and modes (\mɔd\) 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 7929, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mines is recorded at frequency rank #3,341, classified as anoun, pronounced \min\. modes is at rank #4,588, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔd\.
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 7929, this pair ranks #421,678 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mines vs modes
Shared letters: ems. Private to "mines": in. Private to "modes": do.
"mines" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "modes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mines" and "modes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mines" or "modes"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mines" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "modes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #421,678 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mines" and "modes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modes vs moqués". 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 #421,678 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.