mapsvsmazesConfusable pair

Which to use

“maps” and “mazes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,508
“maps” frequency rank
#42,261
“mazes” frequency rank
45769
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maps mazes
Definition plural of map plural of maze

Where the eye mixes maps and mazes

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
maps
5 ch
mazes

Visual trap between maps and mazes

A purely visual mix-up. maps (/mæps/) and mazes (/ˈmeɪzɪz/) 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 45769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

maps is recorded at frequency rank #3,508, classified as anoun, pronounced /mæps/. mazes is at rank #42,261, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmeɪzɪz/.

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 45769, this pair ranks #218,111 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of maps vs mazes

Shared letters: ams. Private to "maps": p. Private to "mazes": ez.

"maps" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mazes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mapsmapps · mapss · masp · mmaps · mpas
  • mazesamzes · maezs · mazess · mazse · mazzes · mmazes · mzaes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "maps" and "mazes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/mæps/ versus /ˈmeɪzɪz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "maps" vs "mazes" - which ranks higher?
"maps" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,508 in our English list, against #42,261 for "mazes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "maps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mazes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #218,111 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "maps" and "mazes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magus vs mazes". 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 #218,111 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