mecvsmerWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“mec” and “mer” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#38,809
“mec” frequency rank
#21,067
“mer” frequency rank
59876
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mec mer
Definition Hombre enérgico. Mar.

Where the eye mixes mec and mer

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
mec
3 ch
mer

Visual trap between mec and mer

A purely visual mix-up. mec ([mɛk]) and mer ([mɛʁ]) 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 a single letter - c in “mec” becomes r in “mer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59876, 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]. mer is at rank #21,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced [mɛʁ].

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 59876, this pair ranks #61,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mec vs mer

Shared letters: em. Private to "mec": c. Private to "mer": r.

"mec" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "mer" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "mec" and "mer" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([mɛk] versus [mɛʁ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "mec" vs "mer" - which ranks higher?
"mer" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,067 in our Spanish list, against #38,809 for "mec". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "mec" and "mer" 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 "mer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mec" and "mer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mec vs mur". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #61,013 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list