Which to use
“mec” and “mercy” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,809
- “mec” frequency rank
- #28,072
- “mercy” frequency rank
- 66881
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mec | mercy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hombre enérgico. | Misericordia, compasión. |
Where the eye mixes mec and mercy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mec runs 3 letters (CVC) against mercy's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mec and mercy
A purely visual mix-up. mec ([mɛk]) and mercy (/ˈmɜːsi/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66881, 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]. mercy is at rank #28,072, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɜːsi/.
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 66881, this pair ranks #38,615 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mec vs mercy
Shared letters: cem. Private to "mec": -. Private to "mercy": ry.
"mec" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mercy" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mercy ← emrcy · mecry · merccy · mercyy · merrcy · meryc · mmercy · mrecy
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mec" and "mercy" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mec" vs "mercy" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mec" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mercy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,615 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mec" and "mercy" 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 #38,615 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.