mesvsmmeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mes is a unknown, mme is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mes” is an unknown and “mme” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,176
“mes” frequency rank
#46,851
“mme” frequency rank
78027
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mes mme
Definition Plural Maskulinum des Pronomens mon Mutter

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mes and mme apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
mes
3 ch
mme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mes is [me] while mme is [m̩mɛ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (unknown vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mes is recorded at frequency rank #31,176, classified as anunknown, pronounced [me]. mme is at rank #46,851, tagged as anoun, pronounced [m̩mɛ].

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 78027, this pair ranks #247,435 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mes vs mme

Shared letters: em. Private to "mes": s. Private to "mme": -.

"mes" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mme" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequency comparison

mes#31,176
mme#46,851

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mes" and "mme" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mes" is an unknown and "mme" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mes" or "mme"?
"mes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,176 in our German list, against #46,851 for "mme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mes vs mme

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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