mamvsmobConfusable pair

Which to use

“mam” and “mob” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#33,218
“mam” frequency rank
#44,868
“mob” frequency rank
78086
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mam mob
Definition Ancestro. Turba.

Where the eye mixes mam and mob

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. mam and mob follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

3 ch
mam
3 ch
mob

Look-alike desk: mam vs mob

A purely visual mix-up. mam (/mam/) and mob (/mɒb/) 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 78086, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mam is recorded at frequency rank #33,218, classified as anoun, pronounced /mam/. mob is at rank #44,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɒb/.

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 78086, this pair ranks #14,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mam vs mob

Shared letters: m. Private to "mam": a. Private to "mob": bo.

"mam" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mob" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mam" and "mob" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/mam/ versus /mɒb/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mam" vs "mob" - which ranks higher?
"mam" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,218 in our Spanish list, against #44,868 for "mob". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "mam" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mob" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #14,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mam" and "mob" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mob vs mur". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #14,987 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list