Which to use
“mail” and “mam” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,803
- “mail” frequency rank
- #33,218
- “mam” frequency rank
- 38021
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mam | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Correo electrónico, medio de comunicación que permite el envío y la recepción de mensajes escritos, que pueden acompañarse de otros tipos de archivos, a través de internet. | Ancestro. |
Where the eye mixes mail and mam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mail with mam
A purely visual mix-up. mail ([ˈmejl]) and mam (/mam/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38021, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mail is recorded at frequency rank #4,803, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmejl]. mam is at rank #33,218, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mam/.
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 38021, this pair ranks #172,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mail vs mam
Shared letters: am. Private to "mail": il. Private to "mam": -.
"mail" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mam" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mail ← amil · maill · mali · mial · mmail
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mail" for "mam" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mail" or "mam" show up more?
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 "mail" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mail" and "mam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mam 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 #172,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.