Which to use
“maxi” is an adverb and “maxime” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,511
- “maxi” frequency rank
- #5,366
- “maxime” frequency rank
- 14877
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maxi | maxime |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Maximum. | Proposition générale qui sert de principe, de fondement, de règle dans un art, dans une science, et particulièrement en matière de politique et de morale. Par exemple, Trajan disait « ces maximes de Zalmoxis » en parlant avec admiration à propos des enseignements du chef spirituel des Daces. |
Where the eye mixes maxi and maxime
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between maxi and maxime
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maxi is \mak.si\ while maxime is \mak.sim\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “maxi” sits inside “maxime”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maxi is recorded at frequency rank #9,511, classified as anadv, pronounced \mak.si\. maxime is at rank #5,366, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mak.sim\.
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 14877, this pair ranks #394,824 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maxi vs maxime
Shared letters: aimx. Private to "maxi": -. Private to "maxime": e.
"maxi" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "maxime" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maxi" and "maxime" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "maxi" vs "maxime" - 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 "maxi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maxime" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #394,824 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maxi" and "maxime" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maid vs maxi". 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 #394,824 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.