muetsvsmuettesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,948
“muets” frequency rank
#48,672
“muettes” frequency rank
71620
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature muets muettes
Definition Masculin pluriel de muet. Féminin pluriel de muet.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
muets
7 ch
muettes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. muets (\mɥɛ\) and muettes (\mɥɛt\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71620, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

muets is recorded at frequency rank #22,948, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɥɛ\. muettes is at rank #48,672, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɥɛt\.

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 71620, this pair ranks #46,928 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of muets vs muettes

Shared letters: emstu. Private to "muets": -. Private to "muettes": -.

"muets" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC  ·  "muettes" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • muetsmeuts · mmuets · muest · muetss · muetts · mutes · umets
  • muettesmeuttes · mmuettes · muetes · muetets · muettess · muettse · mutetes · umettes

Frequency comparison

muets#22,948
muettes#48,672

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "muets" and "muettes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɥɛ\ versus \mɥɛt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "muets" or "muettes"?
"muets" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,948 in our French list, against #48,672 for "muettes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering muets vs muettes

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 “muets” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list