Which to use
“modérer” is a verb and “moderne” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #24,678
- “modérer” frequency rank
- #1,530
- “moderne” frequency rank
- 26208
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modérer | moderne |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Diminuer ; adoucir ; tempérer ; rendre moins violent ; tenir dans de justes limites. | Qui est soit de notre temps, soit d’un temps plus ou moins rapproché du nôtre, par opposition à antique, à ancien. |
Where the eye mixes modérer and moderne
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: modérer vs moderne
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: modérer is \mɔ.de.ʁe\ while moderne is \mɔ.dɛʁn\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26208, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modérer is recorded at frequency rank #24,678, classified as averb, pronounced \mɔ.de.ʁe\. moderne is at rank #1,530, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔ.dɛʁn\.
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 26208, this pair ranks #336,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of modérer vs moderne
Shared letters: demor. Private to "modérer": é. Private to "moderne": n.
"modérer" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "moderne" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- moderne ← mdoerne · mmoderne · modderne · modenre · moderen · modernne · moderrne · modrene
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "modérer" for "moderne" ever safe?
Which is more common, "modérer" or "moderne"?
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 "modérer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moderne" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #336,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modérer" and "moderne" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Modène vs modérer". 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 #336,482 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.