manyvsmaysWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: many is a adjective, mays is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“many” is an adjective and “mays” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,338
“many” frequency rank
#44,064
“mays” frequency rank
64402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature many mays
Definition viele das Artepitheton für den Mais (Zea mays)

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
many
4 ch
mays

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: many is anadjective and maysanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

many is recorded at frequency rank #20,338, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmɛn.i]. 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 64402, this pair ranks #642,870 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of many vs mays

Shared letters: amy. Private to "many": n. Private to "mays": s.

"many" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • manyamny · manny · manyy · mayn · mmany · mnay
  • maysamys · masy · mayss · mayys · mmays · myas

Frequency comparison

many#20,338
mays#44,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "many" and "mays" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "many" is an adjective and "mays" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "many" or "mays"?
"many" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,338 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 many vs mays

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “many”; for a noun, it's “mays”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “many” 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