Which to use
“maire” is a noun and “maîtres” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,142
- “maire” frequency rank
- #4,083
- “maîtres” frequency rank
- 5225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maire | maîtres |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Premier officier municipal d’une commune, municipalité ou arrondissement, élu, en France, par les conseillers municipaux à l’issue des élections municipales, en Suisse, soit directement par le corps électoral (Jura), soit chaque année pour une année par le conseil municipal (Genève). | Masculin pluriel de maître. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maire and maîtres apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maire is \mɛʁ\ while maîtres is \mɛtʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maire is recorded at frequency rank #1,142, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛʁ\. 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 5225, this pair ranks #429,592 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maire vs maîtres
Shared letters: aemr. Private to "maire": i. Private to "maîtres": stî.
"maire" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "maîtres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maire ← amire · maier · mairre · marie · miare · mmaire
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maire" and "maîtres" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "maire" or "maîtres"?
Remembering maire vs maîtres
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “maire”; for an adjective, it's “maîtres”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maire” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable