molevsmolleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,923
“mole” frequency rank
#14,319
“molle” frequency rank
53242
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mole molle
Definition Unité de mesure de quantité de matière du Système international, dont le symbole est mol. Une mole contient autant de particules individuelles qu’il y a d’atomes dans 12 grammes de carbone 12 ; ce nombre est appelé nombre d’Avogadro, et est de l’ordre de 6,022×10²³. Poudre de charbon mélangée avec de la stérile.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mole and molle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mole
5 ch
molle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. mole and molle are pronounced identically (\mɔl\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53242, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mole is recorded at frequency rank #38,923, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔl\. molle is at rank #14,319, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔl\.

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 53242, this pair ranks #142,111 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mole vs molle

Shared letters: elmo. Private to "mole": -. Private to "molle": -.

"mole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "molle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • molemloe · mmole · moel · omle
  • mollemlole · mmolle · molel · omlle

Frequency comparison

mole#38,923
molle#14,319

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mole" and "molle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\mɔl\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "mole" or "molle"?
"molle" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,319 in our French list, against #38,923 for "mole". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mole vs molle

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 “mole” 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