Which to use
“mei” is a conjunction and “meng” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,392
- “mei” frequency rank
- #48,041
- “meng” frequency rank
- 69433
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mei | meng |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ni (liaison simple). | Ma, la mienne. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mei and meng apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mei is \ˈmɛi\ while meng is \meŋ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (conjunction vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mei is recorded at frequency rank #21,392, classified as aconj, pronounced \ˈmɛi\. meng is at rank #48,041, tagged as apron, pronounced \meŋ\.
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 69433, this pair ranks #55,119 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mei vs meng
Shared letters: em. Private to "mei": i. Private to "meng": gn.
"mei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "meng" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- meng ← emng · megn · mengg · menng · mmeng · mneg
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mei" and "meng" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mei" or "meng"?
Remembering mei vs meng
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a conjunction, it's “mei”; for a pronoun, it's “meng”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mei” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable