Which to use
“maîtres” is an adjective and “maîtrises” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,083
- “maîtres” frequency rank
- #32,905
- “maîtrises” frequency rank
- 36988
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maîtres | maîtrises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de maître. | Pluriel de maîtrise. |
Where the eye mixes maîtres and maîtrises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. maîtres runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against maîtrises's 9 (CVVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: maîtres vs maîtrises
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maîtres is \mɛtʁ\ while maîtrises is \me.tʁiz\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36988, 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\. maîtrises is at rank #32,905, tagged as anoun, pronounced \me.tʁiz\.
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 36988, this pair ranks #265,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maîtres vs maîtrises
Shared letters: aemrstî. Private to "maîtres": -. Private to "maîtrises": i.
"maîtres" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "maîtrises" · 9 letters · shape CVVCCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "maîtres" and "maîtrises" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "maîtres" or "maîtrises"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maîtrises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #265,697 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maîtres" and "maîtrises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maîtrises vs maîtrisez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #265,697 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.