mamarvsmamesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mamar is a verb, mames is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mamar” is a verb and “mames” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,394
“mamar” frequency rank
#12,862
“mames” frequency rank
34256
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mamar mames
Definition Aspirar con fuerza, usando los labios y la succión de la garganta para extraer algo del material o recipiente que lo contiene, en particular la leche materna del seno. Forma del plural de mame.

Where the eye mixes mamar and mames

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
mamar
5 ch
mames

Look-alike desk: mamar vs mames

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mamar is [maˈmaɾ] while mames is [ˈmames]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mamar is recorded at frequency rank #21,394, classified as averb, pronounced [maˈmaɾ]. mames is at rank #12,862, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmames].

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 34256, this pair ranks #192,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mamar vs mames

Shared letters: am. Private to "mamar": r. Private to "mames": es.

"mamar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mames" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mamarmaamr · mamarr · mammar · mamra · mmaar · mmamar
  • mamesammes · maems · mamess · mammes · mamse · mmaes · mmames

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "mamar" for "mames" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mamar" is a verb and "mames" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "mamar" vs "mames" - which ranks higher?
"mames" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,862 in our Spanish list, against #21,394 for "mamar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mamar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mames" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #192,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mamar" and "mames" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mamani vs mamar". 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 #192,430 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