MéryvsmesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Méry is a name, mes is a determiner, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Méry” is a name and “mes” is a determiner - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,675
“Méry” frequency rank
#139
“mes” frequency rank
48814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Méry mes
Definition Commune française, située dans le département de la Savoie. Pluriel de mon, ma. Qui sont à moi, dans le cas d’un seul possesseur et de plusieurs objets.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Méry and mes apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Méry
3 ch
mes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: Méry is aname and mesadeterminer. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Méry is recorded at frequency rank #48,675, classified as aname. mes is at rank #139, tagged as adet, pronounced \mɛ\.

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 48814, this pair ranks #175,834 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Méry vs mes

Shared letters: m. Private to "Méry": ryé. Private to "mes": es.

"Méry" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mes" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

Méry#48,675
mes#139

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Méry" and "mes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Méry" is a name and "mes" a determiner, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Méry" or "mes"?
"mes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #139 in our French list, against #48,675 for "Méry". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering Méry vs mes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a name, it's “Méry”; for a determiner, it's “mes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Méry” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list