Which to use
“moult” is an adverb and “must” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,008
- “moult” frequency rank
- #16,189
- “must” frequency rank
- 38197
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | moult | must |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | et ou Beaucoup. Note d’usage : Attaché à un verbe. | Devoir incontournable ; obligation sociale. |
Where the eye mixes moult and must
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses moult with must
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: moult is \mu\ while must is \mœst\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
moult is recorded at frequency rank #22,008, classified as anadv, pronounced \mu\. must is at rank #16,189, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mœst\.
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 38197, this pair ranks #256,973 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of moult vs must
Shared letters: mtu. Private to "moult": lo. Private to "must": s.
"moult" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "must" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "moult" and "must" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "moult" or "must"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "moult" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "must" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #256,973 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "moult" and "must" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moult vs Moura". 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 #256,973 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.