MacsvsmaysWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Macs” and “mays” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,330
“Macs” frequency rank
#44,064
“mays” frequency rank
85394
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Macs mays
Definition Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Mac das Artepitheton für den Mais (Zea mays)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Macs and mays apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Macs
4 ch
mays

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Macs and mays are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - c in “Macs” becomes y in “mays”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85394, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Macs is recorded at frequency rank #41,330, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛks]. mays is at rank #44,064, tagged as anoun, pronounced […].

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 85394, this pair ranks #109,010 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Macs vs mays

Shared letters: ams. Private to "Macs": c. Private to "mays": y.

"Macs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Macsamcs · maccs · macss · masc · mcas · mmacs
  • maysamys · masy · mayss · mayys · mmays · myas

Frequency comparison

Macs#41,330
mays#44,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Macs" and "mays" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by a single letter - c in “Macs” becomes y in “mays”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Macs" or "mays"?
"Macs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #41,330 in our German list, against #44,064 for "mays". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Macs vs mays

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 “Macs” 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