Which to use
“marais” and “marquis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,753
- “marais” frequency rank
- #16,073
- “marquis” frequency rank
- 57826
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | marais | marquis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A marsh; a marshy area, one intermittently covered with water, particularly in Louisiana, or in other French-speaking areas. | A nobleman in England, France, and Germany, of a rank next below that of duke, but above a count. Originally, the marquis was an officer whose duty was to guard the marches or frontiers of the kingdom. The office has ceased, and the name is now a mere title conferred by letters patent or letters close. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set marais and marquis apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
marais and marquis form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57826, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
marais is recorded at frequency rank #41,753, classified as anoun. marquis is at rank #16,073, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɑː.kwɪs/.
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 57826, this pair ranks #116,662 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "marais" and "marquis" be used interchangeably?
Remembering marais vs marquis
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “marais” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable