molevsmuletWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,923
“mole” frequency rank
#32,921
“mulet” frequency rank
71844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mole mulet
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. Équidé mâle né d’un âne et d’une jument, ou d’un cheval et d’une ânesse (on dit plus précisément dans ce cas bardot), et généralement stérile.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mole
5 ch
mulet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mole (\mɔl\) and mulet (\my.lɛ\) 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 71844, 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\. mulet is at rank #32,921, tagged as anoun, pronounced \my.lɛ\.

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 71844, this pair ranks #46,072 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mole vs mulet

Shared letters: elm. Private to "mole": o. Private to "mulet": tu.

"mole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mulet" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • molemloe · mmole · moel · omle
  • muletmluet · mmulet · muelt · mulett · mullet · multe · umlet

Frequency comparison

mole#38,923
mulet#32,921

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mole" and "mulet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɔl\ versus \my.lɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mole" or "mulet"?
"mulet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,921 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 mulet

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list