Which to use
“magna” is a verb and “main” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,416
- “magna” frequency rank
- #385
- “main” frequency rank
- 37801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | magna | main |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple de magner. | Partie du corps humain située au bout du bras, qui s’étend du poignet jusqu’au bout des doigts, qui sert à la préhension et au toucher. |
Where the eye mixes magna and main
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between magna and main
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: magna is \ma.ɲa\ while main is \mɛ̃\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
magna is recorded at frequency rank #37,416, classified as averb, pronounced \ma.ɲa\. main is at rank #385, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛ̃\.
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 37801, this pair ranks #259,838 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of magna vs main
Shared letters: amn. Private to "magna": g. Private to "main": i.
"magna" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "main" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "magna" for "main" ever safe?
Which is more common, "magna" or "main"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "magna" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "main" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #259,838 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "magna" and "main" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magna vs Maura". 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 #259,838 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.