Which to use
“moindre” is an adjective and “monde” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,446
- “moindre” frequency rank
- #102
- “monde” frequency rank
- 1548
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | moindre | monde |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Comparatif de petit : Plus petit. | Ensemble des choses et des êtres existants. |
Where the eye mixes moindre and monde
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses moindre with monde
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: moindre is \mwɛ̃dʁ\ while monde is \mɔ̃d\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1548, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
moindre is recorded at frequency rank #1,446, classified as anadj, pronounced \mwɛ̃dʁ\. 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 1548, this pair ranks #437,855 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of moindre vs monde
Shared letters: demno. Private to "moindre": ir. Private to "monde": -.
"moindre" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV · "monde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "moindre" for "monde" ever safe?
Frequency check: "moindre" vs "monde" - 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 "moindre" 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 #437,855 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "moindre" and "monde" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "monde 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 #437,855 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.