Which to use
“maïs” and “mi” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,849
- “maïs” frequency rank
- #1,445
- “mi” frequency rank
- 8294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maïs | mi |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Note de musique, troisième son de la gamme naturelle. |
Where the eye mixes maïs and mi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maïs vs mi
A purely visual mix-up. maïs (\ma.is\) and mi (\mi\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8294, 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\. mi is at rank #1,445, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mi\.
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 8294, this pair ranks #420,513 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maïs vs mi
Shared letters: m. Private to "maïs": asï. Private to "mi": i.
"maïs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mi" · 2 letters · shape CV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maïs" and "mi" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "maïs" vs "mi" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "mi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #420,513 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maïs" and "mi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maid vs maïs". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #420,513 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.