maigrevsmaîtresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“maigre” and “maîtres” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,733
“maigre” frequency rank
#4,083
“maîtres” frequency rank
12816
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maigre maîtres
Definition Qui contient peu ou pas de graisse ou de liant. Masculin pluriel de maître.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maigre and maîtres apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
maigre
7 ch
maîtres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. maigre (\mɛɡʁ\) and maîtres (\mɛtʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

maigre is recorded at frequency rank #8,733, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛɡʁ\. maîtres is at rank #4,083, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɛtʁ\.

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 12816, this pair ranks #403,627 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of maigre vs maîtres

Shared letters: aemr. Private to "maigre": gi. Private to "maîtres": stî.

"maigre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "maîtres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maigreamigre · magire · maiger · maiggre · maigrre · mairge · miagre · mmaigre

Frequency comparison

maigre#8,733
maîtres#4,083

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "maigre" and "maîtres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛɡʁ\ versus \mɛtʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "maigre" or "maîtres"?
"maîtres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,083 in our French list, against #8,733 for "maigre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering maigre vs maîtres

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maigre” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list