marevsmeteWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#25,350
“mare” frequency rank
#4,923
“mete” frequency rank
30273
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mare mete
Definition Madre. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de meter o de meterse.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mare
4 ch
mete

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

mare and mete form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30273, 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]. mete is at rank #4,923, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmet̪e].

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 30273, this pair ranks #212,793 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

mare#25,350
mete#4,923

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mare" and "mete" be used interchangeably?
No, "mare" and "mete" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering mare vs mete

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mare”; for a verb, it's “mete”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mare” 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