# mala vs may

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### mala
*noun · IPA /ˈmeɪ.lə/ · frequency rank #34,178*
A single lobe of an insect's maxilla.

### may
*verb · IPA /meɪ/ · frequency rank #110*
To be strong; to have power (over).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mala-vs-may