Which to use
“maïs” and “mas” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,849
- “maïs” frequency rank
- #9,694
- “mas” frequency rank
- 16543
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maïs | mas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom vernaculaire de Zea mays subsp. mays, — et de ses cultivars —, plante herbacée de la famille des Poaceae (ou Poacées ou Graminées), originaire du Mexique et du Guatemala, à tige droite et aux feuilles lancéolées, et que l’on cultive comme plante fourragère ou pour ses graines. | Ferme dans le midi de la France. |
Where the eye mixes maïs and mas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maïs vs mas
A purely visual mix-up. maïs (\ma.is\) and mas (\mas\) 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 16543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maïs is recorded at frequency rank #6,849, classified as anoun, pronounced \ma.is\. mas is at rank #9,694, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mas\.
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 16543, this pair ranks #387,356 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maïs vs mas
Shared letters: ams. Private to "maïs": ï. Private to "mas": -.
"maïs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mas" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maïs" for "mas" ever safe?
Which is more common, "maïs" or "mas"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maïs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #387,356 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maïs" and "mas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mas vs MWh". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #387,356 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.