# male vs mate

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### male
*adjective · IPA /meɪl/ · frequency rank #1,371*
Belonging to the sex which typically produces sperm, or to the gender which is typically associated with it.

### mate
*noun · IPA /meɪt/ · frequency rank #2,743*
A fellow, comrade, colleague, partner or someone with whom something is shared, e.g. shipmate, classmate.

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