ModelsvsmodesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#34,629
“Models” frequency rank
#4,588
“modes” frequency rank
39217
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Models modes
Definition Accusatif pluriel de Model. Ensemble de parure que l’on rajoute à un vêtement, dentelles, plumes, etc. colifichet. Autrefois, l‘apanage des modistes.

Where the eye mixes Models and modes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
Models
5 ch
modes

Why the eye confuses Models with modes

A purely visual mix-up. Models (\ˈmɔdl̩s\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Models is recorded at frequency rank #34,629, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈmɔdl̩s\. 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 39217, this pair ranks #249,591 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Models vs modes

Shared letters: demos. Private to "Models": l. Private to "modes": -.

"Models" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "modes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Modelsmdoels · mmodels · moddels · modells · modelss · modesl · modles · moedls
  • modesmdoes · mmodes · moddes · modess · modse · moeds · omdes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Models" and "modes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\ˈmɔdl̩s\ versus \mɔd\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary French text, does "Models" or "modes" show up more?
"modes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,588 in our French list, against #34,629 for "Models". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "Models" 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 #249,591 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Models" and "modes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Models vs Modène". 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 #249,591 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list