Which to use
“mah” is a determiner and “mi” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,174
- “mah” frequency rank
- #1,445
- “mi” frequency rank
- 35619
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mah | mi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mon, ma. | Note de musique, troisième son de la gamme naturelle. |
Where the eye mixes mah and mi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mah with mi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mah is \mɑː\ while mi is \mi\. 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 (determiner vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35619, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mah is recorded at frequency rank #34,174, classified as adet, pronounced \mɑː\. mi is at rank #1,445, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi\.
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 35619, this pair ranks #275,399 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mah vs mi
Shared letters: m. Private to "mah": ah. Private to "mi": i.
"mah" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mi" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mah" for "mi" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mah" vs "mi" - 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 "mah" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,399 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mah" and "mi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mah vs MWh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #275,399 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.