Which to use
“mages” and “mats” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,499
- “mages” frequency rank
- #13,563
- “mats” frequency rank
- 59062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mages | mats |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of mage | plural of mat |
Where the eye mixes mages and mats
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mages vs mats
A purely visual mix-up. mages (/ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒɪz/) and mats (/mæts/) 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 59062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mages is recorded at frequency rank #45,499, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmeɪ.d͡ʒɪz/. mats is at rank #13,563, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæts/.
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 59062, this pair ranks #108,540 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mages vs mats
Shared letters: ams. Private to "mages": eg. Private to "mats": t.
"mages" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "mats" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mages" for "mats" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mages" or "mats"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mages" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mats" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,540 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mages" and "mats" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mages vs MGS". 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 #108,540 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.