Which to use
“mate” and “max” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,837
- “mate” frequency rank
- #1,704
- “max” frequency rank
- 15541
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mate | max |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Endroit, dans Paris, où se tenait le conseil de filous. | Maximum. |
Where the eye mixes mate and max
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mate and max
A purely visual mix-up. mate (\mat\) and max (\maks\) 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 15541, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mate is recorded at frequency rank #13,837, classified as anoun, pronounced \mat\. max is at rank #1,704, tagged as anoun, pronounced \maks\.
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 15541, this pair ranks #391,899 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mate vs max
Shared letters: am. Private to "mate": et. Private to "max": x.
"mate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "max" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mate ← amte · maet · matte · mmate · mtae
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mate" for "max" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mate" vs "max" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "max" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #391,899 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mate" and "max" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mate vs mito". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #391,899 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.