Which to use
“selles” and “semelles” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,466
- “selles” frequency rank
- #25,808
- “semelles” frequency rank
- 47274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | selles | semelles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Excréments humains, formés des résidus de la digestion. | Pluriel de semelle. |
Where the eye mixes selles and semelles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. selles runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against semelles's 8 (CVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses selles with semelles
A purely visual mix-up. selles (\sɛl\) and semelles (\sə.mɛl\) 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 47274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
selles is recorded at frequency rank #21,466, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɛl\. semelles is at rank #25,808, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sə.mɛl\.
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 47274, this pair ranks #188,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of selles vs semelles
Shared letters: els. Private to "selles": -. Private to "semelles": m.
"selles" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "semelles" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "selles" and "semelles" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "selles" vs "semelles" - which ranks higher?
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 "selles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "semelles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #188,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "selles" and "semelles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "selles vs sépales". 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 #188,224 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.