Which to use
“modérée” is a noun and “modeste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,084
- “modérée” frequency rank
- #5,156
- “modeste” frequency rank
- 16240
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modérée | modeste |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Partisane de positions politiques non extrémistes. | Qui a de la retenue, de la modération, qui ne donne dans aucun excès. |
Where the eye mixes modérée and modeste
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses modérée with modeste
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: modérée is \mɔ.de.ʁe\ while modeste is \mɔ.dɛst\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modérée is recorded at frequency rank #11,084, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔ.de.ʁe\. 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 16240, this pair ranks #388,746 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of modérée vs modeste
Shared letters: demo. Private to "modérée": ré. Private to "modeste": st.
"modérée" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "modeste" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- modeste ← mdoeste · mmodeste · moddeste · modeset · modesste · modestte · modetse · modsete
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "modérée" for "modeste" ever safe?
Which is more common, "modérée" or "modeste"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "modérée" 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 #388,746 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modérée" and "modeste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Modène vs modérée". 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 #388,746 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.