Which to use
“mear” is a verb and “mela” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,484
- “mear” frequency rank
- #38,235
- “mela” frequency rank
- 55719
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mear | mela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Evacuar del organismo la orina u otra secreción a través de la uretra. | Manzana. |
Where the eye mixes mear and mela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mear (CVVC) and mela (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between mear and mela
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mear is [meˈaɾ] while mela is [ˈme.la]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55719, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mear is recorded at frequency rank #17,484, classified as averb, pronounced [meˈaɾ]. mela is at rank #38,235, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈme.la].
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 55719, this pair ranks #77,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mear vs mela
Shared letters: aem. Private to "mear": r. Private to "mela": l.
"mear" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mear" for "mela" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mear" vs "mela" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mear" and "mela" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mear" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #77,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mear" and "mela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mela vs melaza". 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 #77,670 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.