MassevsmaysWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“Masse” and “mays” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,815
“Masse” frequency rank
#44,064
“mays” frequency rank
45879
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Masse mays
Definition die Ursache, dass der Materie Trägheit und Schwere (Gravitation) eigen sind; nach der Relativitätstheorie mit Kraft (Energie) gleichwertig (äquivalent) das Artepitheton für den Mais (Zea mays)

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
Masse
4 ch
mays

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Masse and mays 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 45879, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Masse is recorded at frequency rank #1,815, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmasə]. 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 45879, this pair ranks #1,338,029 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Masse vs mays

Shared letters: ams. Private to "Masse": e. Private to "mays": y.

"Masse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mays" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Masseamsse · mase · mases · maße · mmasse · msase
  • maysamys · masy · mayss · mayys · mmays · myas

Frequency comparison

Masse#1,815
mays#44,064

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Masse" and "mays" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Masse" or "mays"?
"Masse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,815 in our German list, against #44,064 for "mays". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Masse vs mays

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Masse” 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