mortalvsmortelsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,414
“mortal” frequency rank
#10,033
“mortels” frequency rank
51447
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mortal mortels
Definition Mortel Masculin pluriel de mortel.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mortal and mortels apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
mortal
7 ch
mortels

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mortal (\ˈmɔːtəl\) and mortels (\mɔʁ.tɛl\) 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 51447, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mortal is recorded at frequency rank #41,414, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈmɔːtəl\. mortels is at rank #10,033, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔʁ.tɛl\.

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 51447, this pair ranks #154,934 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mortal vs mortels

Shared letters: lmort. Private to "mortal": a. Private to "mortels": es.

"mortal" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "mortels" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mortalmmortal · moratl · morrtal · mortall · mortla · morttal · motral · mrotal
  • mortelsmmortels · moretls · morrtels · mortells · mortelss · mortesl · mortles · morttels

Frequency comparison

mortal#41,414
mortels#10,033

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mortal" and "mortels" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ˈmɔːtəl\ versus \mɔʁ.tɛl\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mortal" or "mortels"?
"mortels" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,033 in our French list, against #41,414 for "mortal". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mortal vs mortels

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 “mortal” 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