memvsmiesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#44,311
“mem” frequency rank
#37,727
“mies” frequency rank
82038
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mem mies
Definition Decimotercera letra del alfabeto hebreo Cualquier espiga de cereal madura, lista para ser recolectada, de cuya semilla puede obtenerse harina para hacer pan, etc.

Where the eye mixes mem and mies

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mem runs 3 letters (CVC) against mies's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

3 ch
mem
4 ch
mies

Why the eye confuses mem with mies

A purely visual mix-up. mem ([ˈmẽm]) and mies ([ˈmjes]) 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 82038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mem is recorded at frequency rank #44,311, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmẽm]. mies is at rank #37,727, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmjes].

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 82038, this pair ranks #9,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mem vs mies

Shared letters: em. Private to "mem": -. Private to "mies": is.

"mem" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mies ← imes · meis · miess · mise · mmies

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mem" and "mies" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmẽm] versus [ˈmjes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mem" vs "mies" - which ranks higher?
"mies" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,727 in our Spanish list, against #44,311 for "mem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "mem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #9,668 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mem" and "mies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mem 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 #9,668 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