mahivsmaimConfusable pair

Quick tell: mahi is a noun, maim is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mahi” is a noun and “maim” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,904
“mahi” frequency rank
#44,918
“maim” frequency rank
84822
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mahi maim
Definition the work required to complete a task To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body.

Letter map: mahi vs maim

Shared letters muted; letters that set mahi and maim apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. mahi (CVCV) and maim (CVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
mahi
4 ch
maim

Grammar separator: mahi vs maim

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mahi is anoun and maimaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 84822, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mahi is recorded at frequency rank #39,904, classified as anoun. maim is at rank #44,918, tagged as averb, pronounced /meɪm/.

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 84822, this pair ranks #11,413 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mahi vs maim

Shared letters: aim. Private to "mahi": h. Private to "maim": -.

"mahi" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "maim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mahi ← amhi · mahhi · maih · mhai · mmahi
  • maim ← amim · maimm · mmaim

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mahi" and "maim" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mahi" is a noun and "maim" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mahi" or "maim"?
"mahi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #39,904 in our English list, against #44,918 for "maim". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

You've compared "mahi" and "maim". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mahi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "maim" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,413 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mahi" and "maim" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maim vs marl". 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 #11,413 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list