Which to use
“maze” and “meme” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,102
- “maze” frequency rank
- #8,170
- “meme” frequency rank
- 20272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maze | meme |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A labyrinth; a puzzle consisting of a complicated network of paths or passages, the aim of which is to find one's way through. | Any unit of (originally cultural) information, such as a practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another in a comparable way to the transmission of genes. |
Where the eye mixes maze and meme
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses maze with meme
A purely visual mix-up. maze (/ˈmeɪz/) and meme (/miːm/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maze is recorded at frequency rank #12,102, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmeɪz/. meme is at rank #8,170, tagged as anoun, pronounced /miːm/.
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 20272, this pair ranks #432,274 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maze vs meme
Shared letters: em. Private to "maze": az. Private to "meme": -.
"maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "meme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maze" and "meme" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "maze" vs "meme" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maze" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #432,274 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maze" and "meme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Marne vs maze". 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 #432,274 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.