Which to use
“modes” and “mois” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,588
- “modes” frequency rank
- #184
- “mois” frequency rank
- 4772
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modes | mois |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ensemble de parure que l’on rajoute à un vêtement, dentelles, plumes, etc. colifichet. Autrefois, l‘apanage des modistes. | Chacune des douze parties de l’année, dont chacune contient trente ou trente et un jours, excepté la seconde (février), qui est de vingt-huit jours dans les années ordinaires, et de vingt-neuf dans les années bissextiles. |
Where the eye mixes modes and mois
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses modes with mois
A purely visual mix-up. modes (\mɔd\) and mois (\mwa\) 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 4772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
modes is recorded at frequency rank #4,588, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔd\. mois is at rank #184, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mwa\.
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 4772, this pair ranks #430,740 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of modes vs mois
Shared letters: mos. Private to "modes": de. Private to "mois": i.
"modes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "modes" and "mois" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "modes" or "mois"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "modes" and "mois" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "modes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mois" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,740 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modes" and "mois" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modes vs moqués". 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 #430,740 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.