mobilvsmobileWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,900
“mobil” frequency rank
#2,089
“mobile” frequency rank
43989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mobil mobile
Definition Mobile. Qui se meut ou qui peut être mû ; qui n’est pas fixe.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mobil and mobile apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mobil
6 ch
mobile

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mobil (\moˈbiːl\) and mobile (\mɔ.bil\) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “mobil” sits inside “mobile”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mobil is recorded at frequency rank #41,900, classified as anadj, pronounced \moˈbiːl\. mobile is at rank #2,089, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔ.bil\.

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 43989, this pair ranks #213,883 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mobil vs mobile

Shared letters: bilmo. Private to "mobil": -. Private to "mobile": e.

"mobil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mobile" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mobilmboil · mmobil · mobbil · mobill · mobli · moibl · ombil
  • mobilemboile · mmobile · mobbile · mobiel · mobille · moblie · moible · ombile

Frequency comparison

mobil#41,900
mobile#2,089

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mobil" and "mobile" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\moˈbiːl\ versus \mɔ.bil\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mobil" or "mobile"?
"mobile" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,089 in our French list, against #41,900 for "mobil". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mobil vs mobile

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 “mobil” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list