Which to use
“Maes” is a name and “mes” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,386
- “Maes” frequency rank
- #139
- “mes” frequency rank
- 39525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maes | mes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom de famille néerlandais. | Pluriel de mon, ma. Qui sont à moi, dans le cas d’un seul possesseur et de plusieurs objets. |
Where the eye mixes Maes and mes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Maes with mes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Maes is \maːs\ while mes is \mɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maes is recorded at frequency rank #39,386, classified as aname, pronounced \maːs\. mes is at rank #139, tagged as adet, pronounced \mɛ\.
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 39525, this pair ranks #247,307 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Maes vs mes
Shared letters: ems. Private to "Maes": a. Private to "mes": -.
"Maes" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- Maes ← maess · meas · mmaes
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Maes" and "mes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "Maes" vs "mes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Maes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,307 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maes" and "mes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Maes vs maid". 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 #247,307 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.