maigresvsmauresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,476
“maigres” frequency rank
#22,330
“maures” frequency rank
39806
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maigres maures
Definition Pluriel de maigre. Pluriel de l’adjectif maure.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maigres and maures apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
maigres
6 ch
maures

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. maigres (\mɛɡʁ\) and maures (\mɔʁ\) 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 39806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

maigres is recorded at frequency rank #17,476, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛɡʁ\. maures is at rank #22,330, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔʁ\.

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 39806, this pair ranks #245,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of maigres vs maures

Shared letters: aemrs. Private to "maigres": gi. Private to "maures": u.

"maigres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "maures" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maigresamigres · magires · maigers · maiggres · maigress · maigrres · maigrse · mairges
  • mauresamures · marues · mauers · mauress · maurres · maurse · mmaures · muares

Frequency comparison

maigres#17,476
maures#22,330

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "maigres" and "maures" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛɡʁ\ versus \mɔʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "maigres" or "maures"?
"maigres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,476 in our French list, against #22,330 for "maures". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering maigres vs maures

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 “maigres” 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