mecsvsmercisWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,630
“mecs” frequency rank
#48,043
“mercis” frequency rank
49673
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mecs mercis
Definition Pluriel de mec. Pluriel de merci.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mecs and mercis apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mecs
6 ch
mercis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mecs (\mɛk\) and mercis (\mɛʁ.si\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49673, 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\. mercis is at rank #48,043, tagged as anoun, pronounced \mɛʁ.si\.

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 49673, this pair ranks #168,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mecs vs mercis

Shared letters: cems. Private to "mecs": -. Private to "mercis": ir.

"mecs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mercis" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mecsemcs · mces · meccs · mecss · mesc · mmecs
  • mercisemrcis · mecris · merccis · merciss · mercsi · merics · merrcis · mmercis

Frequency comparison

mecs#1,630
mercis#48,043

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mecs" and "mercis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\mɛk\ versus \mɛʁ.si\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mecs" or "mercis"?
"mecs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,630 in our French list, against #48,043 for "mercis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mecs vs mercis

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 “mecs” 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