Which to use
“modes” and “monts” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,588
- “modes” frequency rank
- #9,876
- “monts” frequency rank
- 14464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | modes | monts |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ensemble de parure que l’on rajoute à un vêtement, dentelles, plumes, etc. colifichet. Autrefois, l‘apanage des modistes. | Pluriel de mont. |
Where the eye mixes modes and monts
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. modes (CVCVC) and monts (CVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between modes and monts
A purely visual mix-up. modes (\mɔd\) and monts (\mɔ̃\) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14464, 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\. monts is at rank #9,876, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔ̃\.
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 14464, this pair ranks #396,525 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of modes vs monts
Shared letters: mos. Private to "modes": de. Private to "monts": nt.
"modes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "monts" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "modes" for "monts" ever safe?
Frequency check: "modes" vs "monts" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "modes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "monts" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,525 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "modes" and "monts" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "monts vs Monza". 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 #396,525 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.