Which to use
“mecs” and “mem” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,630
- “mecs” frequency rank
- #36,045
- “mem” frequency rank
- 37675
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mecs | mem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de mec. | Variante de mém. |
Where the eye mixes mecs and mem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mecs with mem
A purely visual mix-up. mecs (\mɛk\) and mem (\mɛm\) 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 37675, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mecs is recorded at frequency rank #1,630, classified as anoun, pronounced \mɛk\. mem is at rank #36,045, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛm\.
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 37675, this pair ranks #260,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mecs vs mem
Shared letters: em. Private to "mecs": cs. Private to "mem": -.
"mecs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mecs ← emcs · mces · meccs · mecss · mesc · mmecs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mecs" for "mem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mecs" or "mem"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mecs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #260,773 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mecs" and "mem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mem vs MWh". 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 #260,773 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.