Which to use
“mare” and “mer” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,350
- “mare” frequency rank
- #21,067
- “mer” frequency rank
- 46417
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mare | mer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Madre. | Mar. |
Where the eye mixes mare and mer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mare with mer
A purely visual mix-up. mare ([ˈma.ɾə]) and mer ([mɛʁ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46417, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mare is recorded at frequency rank #25,350, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈma.ɾə]. mer is at rank #21,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mɛʁ].
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 46417, this pair ranks #125,841 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mare vs mer
Shared letters: emr. Private to "mare": a. Private to "mer": -.
"mare" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mer" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mare ← amre · marre · mmare · mrae
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mare" and "mer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mare" or "mer"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125,841 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mare" and "mer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mare vs mur". 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 #125,841 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.