Which to use
“mag” is an unknown and “my” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #411
- “mag” frequency rank
- #2,119
- “my” frequency rank
- 2530
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mag | my |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv von mögen | possessives Personalpronomen für die 1. Person Singular; mein |
Where the eye mixes mag and my
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mag with my
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mag is [maːk] while my is [maɪ]. 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 (unknown vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mag is recorded at frequency rank #411, classified as anunknown, pronounced [maːk]. my is at rank #2,119, tagged as apron, pronounced [maɪ].
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 2530, this pair ranks #2,002,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mag vs my
Shared letters: m. Private to "mag": ag. Private to "my": y.
"mag" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "my" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mag" for "my" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mag" vs "my" - 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 "mag" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "my" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,002,133 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mag" and "my" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mme vs my". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #2,002,133 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.