Which to use
“modèle” is a noun and “modeste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #905
- “modèle” frequency rank
- #5,156
- “modeste” frequency rank
- 6061
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modèle | modeste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ce qui sert d’exemple ; ce qui doit être imité. | Qui a de la retenue, de la modération, qui ne donne dans aucun excès. |
Where the eye mixes modèle and modeste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. modèle runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against modeste's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: modèle vs modeste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: modèle is \mɔ.dɛl\ while modeste is \mɔ.dɛst\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6061, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modèle is recorded at frequency rank #905, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔ.dɛl\. modeste is at rank #5,156, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔ.dɛst\.
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 6061, this pair ranks #427,292 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of modèle vs modeste
Shared letters: demo. Private to "modèle": lè. Private to "modeste": st.
"modèle" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "modeste" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- modeste ← mdoeste · mmodeste · moddeste · modeset · modesste · modestte · modetse · modsete
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "modèle" and "modeste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "modèle" or "modeste" show up more?
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 "modèle" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "modeste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,292 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modèle" and "modeste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Médée vs modèle". 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 #427,292 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.