Which to use
“maas” and “mako” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,597
- “maas” frequency rank
- #30,126
- “mako” frequency rank
- 76723
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maas | mako |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sour milk | Ellipsis of mako shark |
Where the eye mixes maas and mako
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between maas and mako
A purely visual mix-up. maas (/mɑːs/) and mako (/ˈmɑkoʊ/) 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 76723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maas is recorded at frequency rank #46,597, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɑːs/. mako is at rank #30,126, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɑkoʊ/.
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 76723, this pair ranks #29,305 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maas vs mako
Shared letters: am. Private to "maas": s. Private to "mako": ko.
"maas" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mako" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maas" for "mako" ever safe?
Which is more common, "maas" or "mako"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mako" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,305 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maas" and "mako" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maas vs MPAA". 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 #29,305 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.