Which to use
“mains” and “maris” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #753
- “mains” frequency rank
- #13,002
- “maris” frequency rank
- 13755
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mains | maris |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de main. | Pluriel de mari. |
Where the eye mixes mains and maris
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mains (CVVCC) and maris (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: mains vs maris
A purely visual mix-up. mains (\mɛ̃\) and maris (\ma.ʁi\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mains is recorded at frequency rank #753, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛ̃\. maris is at rank #13,002, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ma.ʁi\.
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 13755, this pair ranks #399,681 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mains vs maris
Shared letters: aims. Private to "mains": n. Private to "maris": r.
"mains" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "maris" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mains" and "maris" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mains" vs "maris" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mains" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maris" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,681 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mains" and "maris" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maid vs maris". 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 #399,681 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.