MabelvsmakesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Mabel is a name, makes is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Mabel” is a name and “makes” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,745
“Mabel” frequency rank
#49,124
“makes” frequency rank
70869
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mabel makes
Definition Nombre de pila de mujer. Hace, Presente del modo indicativo para la tercera persona del singular del verbo make.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Mabel and makes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Mabel
5 ch
makes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mabel is [maˈβ̞el] while makes is /meɪks/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70869, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mabel is recorded at frequency rank #21,745, classified as aname, pronounced [maˈβ̞el]. makes is at rank #49,124, tagged as averb, pronounced /meɪks/.

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 70869, this pair ranks #28,742 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Mabel vs makes

Shared letters: aem. Private to "Mabel": bl. Private to "makes": ks.

"Mabel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "makes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mabelambel · mabbel · mabell · mable · maebl · mavel · mbael · mmabel
  • makesamkes · maeks · makess · makkes · makse · mkaes · mmakes

Frequency comparison

Mabel#21,745
makes#49,124

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mabel" and "makes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Mabel" is a name and "makes" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Mabel" or "makes"?
"Mabel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,745 in our Spanish list, against #49,124 for "makes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Mabel vs makes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Mabel”; for a verb, it's “makes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Mabel” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list