marvsmurWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#674
“mar” frequency rank
#49,813
“mur” frequency rank
50487
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mar mur
Definition Cuerpo de agua salada que rodea los continentes de la Tierra. Ratón (roedor).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mar and mur apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
mar
3 ch
mur

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mar ([ˈmaɾ]) and mur ([ˈmuɾ]) 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 - a in “mar” becomes u in “mur”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mar is recorded at frequency rank #674, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɾ]. mur is at rank #49,813, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmuɾ].

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 50487, this pair ranks #102,945 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mar vs mur

Shared letters: mr. Private to "mar": a. Private to "mur": u.

"mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mur" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

mar#674
mur#49,813

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mar" and "mur" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaɾ] versus [ˈmuɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mar" or "mur"?
"mar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #674 in our Spanish list, against #49,813 for "mur". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mar vs mur

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list