mariervsmortierWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: marier is a verb, mortier is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“marier” is a verb and “mortier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,348
“marier” frequency rank
#13,639
“mortier” frequency rank
17987
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature marier mortier
Definition Unir deux personnes par le lien conjugal, selon les lois de l’État ou de la religion. Mélange pâteux, destiné à durcir, d’un liant et d’agrégats, servant à lier et sceller les pierres, les parpaings ou les briques d’une construction. Généralement il s'agit d'un mélange de sable, de ciment ou de chaux et d'eau.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set marier and mortier apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
marier
7 ch
mortier

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: marier is \ma.ʁje\ while mortier is \mɔʁ.tje\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

marier is recorded at frequency rank #4,348, classified as averb, pronounced \ma.ʁje\. mortier is at rank #13,639, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɔʁ.tje\.

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 17987, this pair ranks #380,530 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of marier vs mortier

Shared letters: eimr. Private to "marier": a. Private to "mortier": ot.

"marier" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "mortier" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • marieramrier · mairer · mareir · marierr · marire · marrier · mmarier · mraier
  • mortiermmortier · moriter · morrtier · morteir · mortierr · mortire · morttier · motrier

Frequency comparison

marier#4,348
mortier#13,639

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "marier" and "mortier" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "marier" is a verb and "mortier" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "marier" or "mortier"?
"marier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,348 in our French list, against #13,639 for "mortier". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering marier vs mortier

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “marier”; for a noun, it's “mortier”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “marier” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list