modèle vs mole, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#905
“modèle” frequency rank: #38,923
“mole” frequency rank: 39828
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	modèle	mole
Definition	Ce qui sert d’exemple ; ce qui doit être imité.	Unité de mesure de quantité de matière du Système international, dont le symbole est mol. Une mole contient autant de particules individuelles qu’il y a d’atomes dans 12 grammes de carbone 12 ; ce nombre est appelé nombre d’Avogadro, et est de l’ordre de 6,022×10²³.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

modèle

4 ch

mole

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. modèle (\mɔ.dɛl\) and mole (\mɔl\) 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 39828, 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\. mole is at rank #38,923, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔl\.

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 39828, this pair ranks #245,054 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of modèle vs mole

Shared letters: elmo. Private to "modèle": dè. Private to "mole": -.

"modèle" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "mole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

mole ← mloe · mmole · moel · omle

Frequency comparison

modèle#905

mole#38,923

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "modèle" and "mole" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\mɔ.dɛl\ versus \mɔl\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "modèle" or "mole"?

"modèle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #905 in our French list, against #38,923 for "mole". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering modèle vs mole

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 “modèle” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable