Which to use
“mais” is a conjunction and “mes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,283
- “mais” frequency rank
- #403
- “mes” frequency rank
- 32686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mais | mes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pero. | Cada una de las doce partes, de duración variable según el sistema pero similar al ciclo lunar, en que se divide el año. |
Where the eye mixes mais and mes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mais and mes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mais is [mɛ] while mes is [ˈmes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mais is recorded at frequency rank #32,283, classified as aconj, pronounced [mɛ]. mes is at rank #403, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmes].
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 32686, this pair ranks #200,720 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mais vs mes
Shared letters: ms. Private to "mais": ai. Private to "mes": e.
"mais" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mais ← maiss · masi · mmais
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mais" and "mes" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mais" or "mes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #200,720 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mais" and "mes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mais vs makes". 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 #200,720 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.