Which to use
“man” and “mes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,571
- “man” frequency rank
- #403
- “mes” frequency rank
- 2974
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | man | mes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante obsoleta de mano. | Cada una de las doce partes, de duración variable según el sistema pero similar al ciclo lunar, en que se divide el año. |
Where the eye mixes man and mes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses man with mes
A purely visual mix-up. man ([ˈmãn]) and mes ([ˈmes]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2974, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
man is recorded at frequency rank #2,571, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmãn]. mes is at rank #403, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmes].
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 2974, this pair ranks #319,276 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of man vs mes
Shared letters: m. Private to "man": an. Private to "mes": es.
"man" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "man" and "mes" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "man" or "mes"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "man" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,276 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "man" and "mes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "man vs mur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #319,276 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.