masquervsmasserWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,210
“masquer” frequency rank
#23,277
“masser” frequency rank
36487
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature masquer masser
Definition Mettre un masque à quelqu’un. Disposer en masses, en colonnes serrées.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
masquer
6 ch
masser

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. masquer (\mas.ke\) and masser (\ma.se\) 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 36487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

masquer is recorded at frequency rank #13,210, classified as averb, pronounced \mas.ke\. masser is at rank #23,277, tagged as averb, pronounced \ma.se\.

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 36487, this pair ranks #269,235 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of masquer vs masser

Shared letters: aemrs. Private to "masquer": qu. Private to "masser": -.

"masquer" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC  ·  "masser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • masqueramsquer · maqsuer · masqeur · masqquer · masquerr · masqure · massquer · masuqer
  • masseramsser · maser · masesr · masserr · massre · mmasser · msaser

Frequency comparison

masquer#13,210
masser#23,277

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "masquer" and "masser" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mas.ke\ versus \ma.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "masquer" or "masser"?
"masquer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,210 in our French list, against #23,277 for "masser". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering masquer vs masser

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 “masquer” 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