Which to use
“mahé” is a postp and “mèche” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,035
- “mahé” frequency rank
- #14,096
- “mèche” frequency rank
- 58131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mahé | mèche |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dans, dedans. | Assemblage de fils de coton, de chanvre, etc., qu’on utilise pour l’éclairage dans les lampes à huile, à pétrole, à essence, etc. |
Where the eye mixes mahé and mèche
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mahé runs 4 letters (CVCV) against mèche's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mahé vs mèche
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mahé is \ma.ˈhe\ while mèche is \mɛʃ\. 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 (postp vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mahé is recorded at frequency rank #44,035, classified as apostp, pronounced \ma.ˈhe\. mèche is at rank #14,096, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛʃ\.
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 58131, this pair ranks #110,835 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mahé vs mèche
Shared letters: hm. Private to "mahé": aé. Private to "mèche": ceè.
"mahé" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mèche" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mahé" for "mèche" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mahé" or "mèche"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mahé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mèche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #110,835 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mahé" and "mèche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mahé vs MWh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #110,835 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.