Which to use
“mains” and “mind” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #753
- “mains” frequency rank
- #18,257
- “mind” frequency rank
- 19010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mains | mind |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de main. | Esprit. |
Where the eye mixes mains and mind
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mains vs mind
A purely visual mix-up. mains (\mɛ̃\) and mind (\maɪnd\) 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 19010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mains is recorded at frequency rank #753, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛ̃\. mind is at rank #18,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced \maɪnd\.
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 19010, this pair ranks #375,483 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mains vs mind
Shared letters: imn. Private to "mains": as. Private to "mind": d.
"mains" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "mind" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mains" and "mind" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mains" vs "mind" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "mind" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #375,483 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mains" and "mind" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mind vs mud". 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 #375,483 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.