Which to use
“maïs” is a noun and “mes” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,849
- “maïs” frequency rank
- #139
- “mes” frequency rank
- 6988
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maïs | mes |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Pluriel de mon, ma. Qui sont à moi, dans le cas d’un seul possesseur et de plusieurs objets. |
Where the eye mixes maïs and mes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between maïs and mes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maïs is \ma.is\ while mes is \mɛ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs determiner), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6988, 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\. mes is at rank #139, tagged as adet, pronounced \mɛ\.
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 6988, this pair ranks #424,606 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maïs vs mes
Shared letters: ms. Private to "maïs": aï. Private to "mes": e.
"maïs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maïs" and "mes" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "maïs" or "mes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maïs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #424,606 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maïs" and "mes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maid vs maïs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #424,606 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.