Which to use
“maîtres” is an adjective and “maîtresse” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,083
- “maîtres” frequency rank
- #5,367
- “maîtresse” frequency rank
- 9450
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maîtres | maîtresse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de maître. | Celle qui a un pouvoir de domination sur les êtres ou les choses. |
Where the eye mixes maîtres and maîtresse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. maîtres runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against maîtresse's 9 (CVVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: maîtres vs maîtresse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maîtres is \mɛtʁ\ while maîtresse is \mɛ.tʁɛs\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “maîtres” sits inside “maîtresse”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maîtres is recorded at frequency rank #4,083, classified as anadj, pronounced \mɛtʁ\. maîtresse is at rank #5,367, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛ.tʁɛs\.
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 9450, this pair ranks #416,596 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maîtres vs maîtresse
Shared letters: aemrstî. Private to "maîtres": -. Private to "maîtresse": -.
"maîtres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "maîtresse" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maîtres" for "maîtresse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "maîtres" vs "maîtresse" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtresse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #416,596 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maîtres" and "maîtresse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maigret vs maîtres". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #416,596 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.