Which to use
“mei” is a pronoun and “mou” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,446
- “mei” frequency rank
- #46,072
- “mou” frequency rank
- 74518
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mei | mou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del genitivo singular de egō. | Blando. |
Where the eye mixes mei and mou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. mei and mou follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses mei with mou
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mei is /ˈme.iː/ while mou is [mu]. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mei is recorded at frequency rank #28,446, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈme.iː/. mou is at rank #46,072, tagged as anadj, pronounced [mu].
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 74518, this pair ranks #21,173 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mei vs mou
Shared letters: m. Private to "mei": ei. Private to "mou": ou.
"mei" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mou" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mei" and "mou" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mei" or "mou" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,173 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mei" and "mou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mou vs mur". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #21,173 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.