mangevsmazeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mange” and “maze” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,323
“mange” frequency rank
#40,371
“maze” frequency rank
42694
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mange maze
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de manger. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de mazer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mange and maze apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mange
4 ch
maze

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mange (\mɑ̃ʒ\) and maze (\maz\) 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 42694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mange is recorded at frequency rank #2,323, classified as averb, pronounced \mɑ̃ʒ\. maze is at rank #40,371, tagged as averb, pronounced \maz\.

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 42694, this pair ranks #223,637 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mange vs maze

Shared letters: aem. Private to "mange": gn. Private to "maze": z.

"mange" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "maze" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mangeamnge · maneg · mangge · mannge · mmange · mnage
  • mazeamze · maez · mazze · mmaze · mzae

Frequency comparison

mange#2,323
maze#40,371

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mange" and "maze" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɑ̃ʒ\ versus \maz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mange" or "maze"?
"mange" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,323 in our French list, against #40,371 for "maze". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mange vs maze

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mange” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list