meinsvsmesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,085
“meins” frequency rank
#31,176
“mes” frequency rank
38261
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature meins mes
Definition Nominativ Singular Neutrum bei nicht attributivem Gebrauch des Possessivpronomens mein Plural Maskulinum des Pronomens mon

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
meins
3 ch
mes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

meins and mes form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38261, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

meins is recorded at frequency rank #7,085, classified as anunknown, pronounced [maɪ̯ns]. mes is at rank #31,176, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [me].

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 38261, this pair ranks #1,568,539 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

meins#7,085
mes#31,176

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "meins" and "mes" be used interchangeably?
No, "meins" and "mes" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering meins vs mes

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 “meins” 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