Which to use
“madder” and “mailer” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,738
- “madder” frequency rank
- #31,248
- “mailer” frequency rank
- 78986
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | madder | mailer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctorum, native to Asia, cultivated for a red-purple dye (alizarin) obtained from the root. | One who sends mail. |
Letter map: madder vs mailer
Shared letters muted; letters that set madder and mailer apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. madder (CVCCVC) and mailer (CVVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Corpus notes: madder and mailer
madder and mailer are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78986, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
madder is recorded at frequency rank #47,738, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmæd.ə(ɹ)/. mailer is at rank #31,248, tagged as anoun.
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 78986, this pair ranks #23,231 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of madder vs mailer
Shared letters: aemr. Private to "madder": d. Private to "mailer": il.
"madder" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "mailer" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "madder" for "mailer" ever safe?
Frequency check: "madder" vs "mailer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
You've compared "madder" and "mailer". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "madder" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mailer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,231 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "madder" and "mailer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "madder vs Maurer". 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 #23,231 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.