Which to use
“Mafia” and “Maid” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,642
- “Mafia” frequency rank
- #35,310
- “Maid” frequency rank
- 42952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mafia | Maid |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | organisierte Verbrecherorganisationen | junge, unverheiratete Frau |
Where the eye mixes Mafia and Maid
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Mafia and Maid
A purely visual mix-up. Mafia ([ˈmafi̯a]) and Maid ([maɪ̯t]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mafia is recorded at frequency rank #7,642, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmafi̯a]. Maid is at rank #35,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maɪ̯t].
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 42952, this pair ranks #1,433,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Mafia vs Maid
Shared letters: aim. Private to "Mafia": f. Private to "Maid": d.
"Mafia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "Maid" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Mafia" for "Maid" ever safe?
Frequency check: "Mafia" vs "Maid" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Mafia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Maid" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,433,223 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mafia" and "Maid" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Maid vs Mals". 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 #1,433,223 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.