Which to use
“moire” is a noun and “mordre” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,051
- “moire” frequency rank
- #13,429
- “mordre” frequency rank
- 61480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | moire | mordre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Apprêt que reçoivent, par un calandrage spécifique, certaines étoffes de soie, de laine, de coton ou de lin, et qui leur communique un éclat changeant, une apparence ondée et chatoyante. | Serrer avec les dents de manière à entamer. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set moire and mordre apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: moire is \mwaʁ\ while mordre is \mɔʁdʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
moire is recorded at frequency rank #48,051, classified as anoun, pronounced \mwaʁ\. mordre is at rank #13,429, tagged as averb, pronounced \mɔʁdʁ\.
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 61480, this pair ranks #92,029 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of moire vs mordre
Shared letters: emor. Private to "moire": i. Private to "mordre": d.
"moire" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "mordre" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "moire" and "mordre" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "moire" or "mordre"?
Remembering moire vs mordre
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “moire”; for a verb, it's “mordre”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “moire” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable