moivsmouWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: moi is a pronoun, mou is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“moi” is a pronoun and “mou” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#26,538
“moi” frequency rank
#46,072
“mou” frequency rank
72610
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature moi mou
Definition Yo. Blando.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
moi
3 ch
mou

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: moi is [mwa] while mou is [mu]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “moi” becomes u in “mou”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72610, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

moi is recorded at frequency rank #26,538, classified as apron, pronounced [mwa]. mou is at rank #46,072, tagged as anadj, pronounced [mu].

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 72610, this pair ranks #24,995 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of moi vs mou

Shared letters: mo. Private to "moi": i. Private to "mou": u.

"moi" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "mou" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

moi#26,538
mou#46,072

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "moi" and "mou" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "moi" is a pronoun and "mou" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "moi" or "mou"?
"moi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,538 in our Spanish list, against #46,072 for "mou". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering moi vs mou

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “moi”; for an adjective, it's “mou”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “moi” 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