Which to use
“maim” is a verb and “maki” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,918
- “maim” frequency rank
- #31,647
- “maki” frequency rank
- 76565
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maim | maki |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To wound seriously; to cause permanent loss of function of a limb or part of the body. | A ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta). |
Where the eye mixes maim and maki
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. maim (CVVC) and maki (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses maim with maki
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maim is /meɪm/ while maki is /ˈmɑːki/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maim is recorded at frequency rank #44,918, classified as averb, pronounced /meɪm/. maki is at rank #31,647, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɑːki/.
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 76565, this pair ranks #29,751 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maim vs maki
Shared letters: aim. Private to "maim": -. Private to "maki": k.
"maim" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "maki" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maim" for "maki" ever safe?
Which is more common, "maim" or "maki"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maki" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,751 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maim" and "maki" 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 #29,751 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.