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 eye mixes macaire and maire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. macaire runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against maire's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses macaire with maire
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
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "macaire" and "maire" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "macaire" vs "maire" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "macaire" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,919 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "macaire" and "maire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "macaire vs maudire". 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 #172,919 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.