Which to use
“mode” is a noun and “mordre” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #585
- “mode” frequency rank
- #13,429
- “mordre” frequency rank
- 14014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mode | mordre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Manière de voir ou d’agir ; fantaisie. | Serrer avec les dents de manière à entamer. |
Where the eye mixes mode and mordre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mode runs 4 letters (CVCV) against mordre's 6 (CVCCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mode vs mordre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mode is \mɔd\ while mordre is \mɔʁdʁ\. 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 14014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mode is recorded at frequency rank #585, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔd\. mordre is at rank #13,429, tagged as averb, pronounced \mɔʁdʁ\.
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 14014, this pair ranks #398,571 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mode vs mordre
Shared letters: demo. Private to "mode": -. Private to "mordre": r.
"mode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mordre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mode" and "mordre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mode" vs "mordre" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mode" and "mordre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mode" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mordre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #398,571 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mode" and "mordre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mordre vs mordue". 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 #398,571 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.