Which to use
“mata” and “maze” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,084
- “mata” frequency rank
- #44,065
- “maze” frequency rank
- 84149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mata | maze |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Plural des Substantivs mace | Irrgarten oder ein Gewirr wie ein Irrgarten |
Where the eye mixes mata and maze
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mata and maze follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses mata with maze
A purely visual mix-up. mata ([máːtáː]) 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 84149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mata is recorded at frequency rank #40,084, classified as anoun, pronounced [máːtáː]. 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 84149, this pair ranks #128,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mata vs maze
Shared letters: am. Private to "mata": t. Private to "maze": ez.
"mata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mata" for "maze" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mata" or "maze"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mata" 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 #128,365 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mata" 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 #128,365 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.