macairevsmaireWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“macaire” and “maire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#48,023
“macaire” frequency rank
#1,142
“maire” frequency rank
49165
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature macaire maire
Definition Oiseleur à la glu. Premier officier municipal d’une commune, municipalité ou arrondissement, élu, en France, par les conseillers municipaux à l’issue des élections municipales, en Suisse, soit directement par le corps électoral (Jura), soit chaque année pour une année par le conseil municipal (Genève).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set macaire and maire apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
macaire
5 ch
maire

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. macaire ([maˈkajɾe]) and maire (\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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49165, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

macaire is recorded at frequency rank #48,023, classified as anoun, pronounced [maˈkajɾe]. maire is at rank #1,142, 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 49165, this pair ranks #172,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of macaire vs maire

Shared letters: aeimr. Private to "macaire": c. Private to "maire": -.

"macaire" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "maire" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • macaireamcaire · maacire · macaier · macairre · macarie · maccaire · maciare · mcaaire
  • maireamire · maier · mairre · marie · miare · mmaire

Frequency comparison

macaire#48,023
maire#1,142

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "macaire" and "maire" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([maˈkajɾe] versus \mɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "macaire" or "maire"?
"maire" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,142 in our French list, against #48,023 for "macaire". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering macaire vs maire

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 “macaire” 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