modéréesvsmodestesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#29,865
“modérées” frequency rank
#9,348
“modestes” frequency rank
39213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modérées modestes
Definition Féminin pluriel de modéré. Pluriel de modeste.

Where the eye mixes modérées and modestes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. modérées (CVCVCVVC) and modestes (CVCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
modérées
8 ch
modestes

Look-alike desk: modérées vs modestes

A purely visual mix-up. modérées (\mɔ.de.ʁe\) and modestes (\mɔ.dɛst\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

modérées is recorded at frequency rank #29,865, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɔ.de.ʁe\. modestes is at rank #9,348, 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 39213, this pair ranks #249,629 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of modérées vs modestes

Shared letters: demos. Private to "modérées": ré. Private to "modestes": t.

"modérées" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "modestes" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modestes ← mdoestes · mmodestes · moddestes · modesets · modesstes · modestess · modestse · modesttes

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "modérées" for "modestes" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\mɔ.de.ʁe\ versus \mɔ.dɛst\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "modérées" or "modestes"?
"modestes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,348 in our French list, against #29,865 for "modérées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "modérées" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "modestes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #249,629 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "modérées" and "modestes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modérées vs montrées". 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 #249,629 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