Which to use
“memoir” and “memory” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,085
- “memoir” frequency rank
- #1,641
- “memory” frequency rank
- 11726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | memoir | memory |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An autobiography; a book describing the personal experiences of an author. | The ability of the brain to record information or impressions with the facility of recalling them later, usually at will. |
Where the eye mixes memoir and memory
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between memoir and memory
A purely visual mix-up. memoir (/ˈmɛmˌwɑː/) and memory (/ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/) 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 11726, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
memoir is recorded at frequency rank #10,085, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛmˌwɑː/. memory is at rank #1,641, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛm.ə.ɹi/.
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 11726, this pair ranks #485,461 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of memoir vs memory
Shared letters: emor. Private to "memoir": i. Private to "memory": y.
"memoir" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "memory" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "memoir" for "memory" ever safe?
Which is more common, "memoir" or "memory"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "memoir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "memory" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #485,461 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "memoir" and "memory" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Meir vs memoir". 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 #485,461 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.