Which to use
“mec” and “mela” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,809
- “mec” frequency rank
- #38,235
- “mela” frequency rank
- 77044
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mec | mela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hombre enérgico. | Manzana. |
Where the eye mixes mec and mela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mec runs 3 letters (CVC) against mela's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mec and mela
A purely visual mix-up. mec ([mɛk]) and mela ([ˈme.la]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77044, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mec is recorded at frequency rank #38,809, classified as anoun, pronounced [mɛk]. 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 77044, this pair ranks #16,698 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mec vs mela
Shared letters: em. Private to "mec": c. Private to "mela": al.
"mec" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mela ← emla · meal · mlea · mmela
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mec" and "mela" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mec" or "mela" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mec" and "mela" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mec" 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 #16,698 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mec" and "mela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mec vs mur". 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 #16,698 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.