Which to use
“Mais” and “maze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,409
- “Mais” frequency rank
- #44,065
- “maze” frequency rank
- 53474
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mais | maze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Botanik: | Irrgarten oder ein Gewirr wie ein Irrgarten |
Where the eye mixes Mais and maze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. Mais (CVVC) and maze (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between Mais and maze
A purely visual mix-up. Mais ([maɪ̯s]) and maze ([meɪz]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53474, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mais is recorded at frequency rank #9,409, classified as anoun, pronounced [maɪ̯s]. maze is at rank #44,065, tagged as anoun, pronounced [meɪz].
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 53474, this pair ranks #1,056,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Mais vs maze
Shared letters: am. Private to "Mais": is. Private to "maze": ez.
"Mais" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Mais" and "maze" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Mais" vs "maze" - 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 "Mais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maze" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,056,588 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mais" and "maze" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matze vs maze". 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 #1,056,588 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.