Which to use
“madge” and “mode” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,174
- “madge” frequency rank
- #2,357
- “mode” frequency rank
- 36531
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | madge | mode |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The barn owl. | One of several common scales in modern Western music, one of which corresponds to the modern major scale and one to the natural minor scale. |
Where the eye mixes madge and mode
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between madge and mode
A purely visual mix-up. madge (/mæd͡ʒ/) and mode (/moʊd/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
madge is recorded at frequency rank #34,174, classified as anoun, pronounced /mæd͡ʒ/. mode is at rank #2,357, tagged as anoun, pronounced /moʊd/.
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 36531, this pair ranks #302,398 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of madge vs mode
Shared letters: dem. Private to "madge": ag. Private to "mode": o.
"madge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mode" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "madge" for "mode" ever safe?
Which is more common, "madge" or "mode"?
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 "madge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mode" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #302,398 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "madge" and "mode" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "madge vs Marne". 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 #302,398 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.