Which to use
“Maria” and “Mary” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,301
- “Maria” frequency rank
- #4,536
- “Mary” frequency rank
- 5837
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maria | Mary |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | weiblicher Vorname | weiblicher Vorname |
Letter map: Maria vs Mary
Shared letters muted; letters that set Maria and Mary apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Pair insight - Maria / Mary
Maria and Mary 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maria is recorded at frequency rank #1,301, classified as aname, pronounced [maˈʁiːa]. Mary is at rank #4,536, tagged as aname, 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 5837, this pair ranks #1,993,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Maria vs Mary
Shared letters: amr. Private to "Maria": i. Private to "Mary": y.
"Maria" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "Mary" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Maria" for "Mary" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "Maria" or "Mary" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "Maria" and "Mary".
- Full dictionary entry for "Maria" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Mary" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,993,557 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maria" and "Mary" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mary vs puzzles". 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 #1,993,557 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.