moulinvsmoutonWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,480
“moulin” frequency rank
#7,729
“mouton” frequency rank
13209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature moulin mouton
Definition Machine permettant de moudre du grain. Mammifère herbivore de la famille des ovidés, à poils laineux et frisés.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
moulin
6 ch
mouton

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. moulin (\mu.lɛ̃\) and mouton (\mu.tɔ̃\) 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 13209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

moulin is recorded at frequency rank #5,480, classified as anoun, pronounced \mu.lɛ̃\. mouton is at rank #7,729, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mu.tɔ̃\.

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 13209, this pair ranks #401,976 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of moulin vs mouton

Shared letters: mnou. Private to "moulin": il. Private to "mouton": t.

"moulin" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "mouton" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • moulinmmoulin · moluin · mouiln · moulinn · moullin · moulni · muolin · omulin
  • moutonmmouton · motuon · mouotn · moutno · moutonn · moutton · muoton · omuton

Frequency comparison

moulin#5,480
mouton#7,729

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "moulin" and "mouton" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mu.lɛ̃\ versus \mu.tɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "moulin" or "mouton"?
"moulin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,480 in our French list, against #7,729 for "mouton". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering moulin vs mouton

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 “moulin” 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