medidavsmidaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: medida is a noun, mida is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“medida” is a noun and “mida” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#725
“medida” frequency rank
#38,243
“mida” frequency rank
38968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature medida mida
Definition Acción o efecto de medir. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de medir o de medirse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set medida and mida apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
medida
4 ch
mida

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: medida is [meˈð̞ið̞a] while mida is [ˈmið̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

medida is recorded at frequency rank #725, classified as anoun, pronounced [meˈð̞ið̞a]. mida is at rank #38,243, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmið̞a].

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 38968, this pair ranks #167,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of medida vs mida

Shared letters: adim. Private to "medida": e. Private to "mida": -.

"medida" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "mida" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • medidaemdida · mdeida · meddida · mediad · medidda · meidda · mmedida
  • midaimda · mdia · miad · midda · mmida

Frequency comparison

medida#725
mida#38,243

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "medida" and "mida" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "medida" is a noun and "mida" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "medida" or "mida"?
"medida" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #725 in our Spanish list, against #38,243 for "mida". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering medida vs mida

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “medida”; for a verb, it's “mida”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “medida” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list