mamesvsmaresWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#12,862
“mames” frequency rank
#10,529
“mares” frequency rank
23391
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mames mares
Definition Forma del plural de mame. Forma del plural de mar.

Where the eye mixes mames and mares

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
mames
5 ch
mares

Visual trap between mames and mares

A purely visual mix-up. mames ([ˈmames]) and mares ([ˈmaɾes]) 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 a single letter - m in “mames” becomes r in “mares”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23391, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mames is recorded at frequency rank #12,862, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmames]. mares is at rank #10,529, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɾes].

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 23391, this pair ranks #246,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mames vs mares

Shared letters: aems. Private to "mames": -. Private to "mares": r.

"mames" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mares" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mamesammes · maems · mamess · mammes · mamse · mmaes · mmames
  • maresamres · maers · maress · marres · marse · mmares · mraes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mames" and "mares" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmames] versus [ˈmaɾes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mames" or "mares"?
"mares" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,529 in our Spanish list, against #12,862 for "mames". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "mames" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mares" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #246,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mames" and "mares" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mames vs mamones". 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 #246,018 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