modesvsmondeConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,588
“modes” frequency rank
#102
“monde” frequency rank
4690
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modes monde
Definition Ensemble de parure que l’on rajoute à un vêtement, dentelles, plumes, etc. colifichet. Autrefois, l‘apanage des modistes. Ensemble des choses et des êtres existants.

Where the eye mixes modes and monde

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
modes
5 ch
monde

Visual trap between modes and monde

A purely visual mix-up. modes (\mɔd\) and monde (\mɔ̃d\) 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 4690, 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\. monde is at rank #102, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔ̃d\.

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 4690, this pair ranks #430,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of modes vs monde

Shared letters: demo. Private to "modes": s. Private to "monde": n.

"modes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "monde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modesmdoes · mmodes · moddes · modess · modse · moeds · omdes
  • mondemmonde · mnode · modne · mondde · moned · monnde · omnde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "modes" for "monde" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\mɔd\ versus \mɔ̃d\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "modes" vs "monde" - which ranks higher?
"monde" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #102 in our French list, against #4,588 for "modes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "modes" and "monde" 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 "monde" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #430,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "modes" and "monde" 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 #430,945 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