# mates vs mote

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### mates
*noun · IPA /meɪts/ · frequency rank #7,248*
plural of mate

### mote
*noun · IPA /moʊt/ · frequency rank #45,526*
A small particle; a speck.

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