Which to use
“monde” and “moule” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #102
- “monde” frequency rank
- #9,699
- “moule” frequency rank
- 9801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | monde | moule |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ensemble des choses et des êtres existants. | Mollusque bivalve, comestible, dont la coquille est de forme oblongue. |
Where the eye mixes monde and moule
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. monde (CVCCV) and moule (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between monde and moule
A purely visual mix-up. monde (\mɔ̃d\) and moule (\mul\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
monde is recorded at frequency rank #102, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɔ̃d\. moule is at rank #9,699, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mul\.
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 9801, this pair ranks #415,351 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of monde vs moule
Shared letters: emo. Private to "monde": dn. Private to "moule": lu.
"monde" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "moule" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "monde" for "moule" ever safe?
Which is more common, "monde" or "moule"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "monde" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "moule" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #415,351 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "monde" and "moule" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moquée vs moule". 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 #415,351 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.