Which to use
“madre” and “mar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #287
- “madre” frequency rank
- #674
- “mar” frequency rank
- 961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | madre | mar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Progenitora de sexo femenino. | Cuerpo de agua salada que rodea los continentes de la Tierra. |
Where the eye mixes madre and mar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: madre vs mar
A purely visual mix-up. madre ([ˈmað̞ɾe]) and mar ([ˈmaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
madre is recorded at frequency rank #287, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmað̞ɾe]. mar is at rank #674, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɾ].
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 961, this pair ranks #322,755 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of madre vs mar
Shared letters: amr. Private to "madre": de. Private to "mar": -.
"madre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- madre ← amdre · maddre · mader · madrre · marde · mdare · mmadre
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "madre" and "mar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "madre" or "mar"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "madre" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,755 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "madre" and "mar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mar vs mur". 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 #322,755 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.