moisivsmousWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,913
“moisi” frequency rank
#21,092
“mous” frequency rank
54005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature moisi mous
Definition Attaqué par la moisissure. Masculin pluriel de mou.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set moisi and mous apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
moisi
4 ch
mous

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. moisi (\mwa.zi\) and mous (\mu\) 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 54005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

moisi is recorded at frequency rank #32,913, classified as anadj, pronounced \mwa.zi\. mous is at rank #21,092, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mu\.

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 54005, this pair ranks #136,945 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of moisi vs mous

Shared letters: mos. Private to "moisi": i. Private to "mous": u.

"moisi" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "mous" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • moisimiosi · mmoisi · moiis · moissi · mosii · omisi
  • mousmmous · mosu · mouss · muos · omus

Frequency comparison

moisi#32,913
mous#21,092

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "moisi" and "mous" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mwa.zi\ versus \mu\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "moisi" or "mous"?
"mous" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,092 in our French list, against #32,913 for "moisi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering moisi vs mous

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “moisi” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list