Which to use
“mou” is an adjective and “mur” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,739
- “mou” frequency rank
- #1,531
- “mur” frequency rank
- 10270
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mou | mur |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui cède facilement au toucher, qui reçoit facilement l’impression des autres corps. | Édification généralement verticale élevée en divers matériaux, pour enclore un espace, séparer des pièces, ou soutenir quelque chose. |
Where the eye mixes mou and mur
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mou vs mur
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mou is \mu\ while mur is \myʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mou is recorded at frequency rank #8,739, classified as anadj, pronounced \mu\. mur is at rank #1,531, tagged as anoun, pronounced \myʁ\.
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 10270, this pair ranks #413,618 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mou vs mur
Shared letters: mu. Private to "mou": o. Private to "mur": r.
"mou" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mur" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mou" for "mur" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mou" vs "mur" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mou" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mur" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #413,618 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mou" and "mur" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mou vs MWh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #413,618 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.