Which to use
“mâche” is a noun and “mah” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,456
- “mâche” frequency rank
- #34,174
- “mah” frequency rank
- 63630
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mâche | mah |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom vulgaire de Valerianella locusta, plante potagère de la famille des Caprifoliaceae (caprifoliacées) que l'on mange en salade. | Mon, ma. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mâche and mah apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mâche is \mɑʃ\ while mah is \mɑː\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63630, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mâche is recorded at frequency rank #29,456, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɑʃ\. mah is at rank #34,174, tagged as adet, pronounced \mɑː\.
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 63630, this pair ranks #81,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mâche vs mah
Shared letters: hm. Private to "mâche": ceâ. Private to "mah": a.
"mâche" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "mah" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mâche" and "mah" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mâche" or "mah"?
Remembering mâche vs mah
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mâche”; for a determiner, it's “mah”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mâche” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable