MéjicovsmétricoWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Méjico is a name, métrico is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Méjico” is a name and “métrico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28,462
“Méjico” frequency rank
#42,581
“métrico” frequency rank
71043
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Méjico métrico
Definition Grafía anticuada de México. Que pertenece o concierne al metro o a la medición longitudinal .

Where the eye mixes Méjico and métrico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. Méjico runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against métrico's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Méjico
7 ch
métrico

Why the eye confuses Méjico with métrico

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Méjico is [ˈmexiko] while métrico is [ˈmet̪ɾiko]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Méjico is recorded at frequency rank #28,462, classified as aname, pronounced [ˈmexiko]. métrico is at rank #42,581, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈmet̪ɾiko].

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 71043, this pair ranks #28,346 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Méjico vs métrico

Shared letters: cimoé. Private to "Méjico": j. Private to "métrico": rt.

"Méjico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "métrico" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "Méjico" for "métrico" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Méjico" is a name and "métrico" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "Méjico" or "métrico" show up more?
"Méjico" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,462 in our Spanish list, against #42,581 for "métrico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Méjico" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "métrico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #28,346 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Méjico" and "métrico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "merito vs métrico". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #28,346 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