Which to use
“mela” and “merma” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,235
- “mela” frequency rank
- #28,448
- “merma” frequency rank
- 66683
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mela | merma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Manzana. | Acción o efecto de mermar. |
Where the eye mixes mela and merma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mela runs 4 letters (CVCV) against merma's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mela and merma
A purely visual mix-up. mela ([ˈme.la]) and merma ([ˈmeɾma]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66683, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mela is recorded at frequency rank #38,235, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈme.la]. merma is at rank #28,448, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmeɾma].
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 66683, this pair ranks #39,186 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mela vs merma
Shared letters: aem. Private to "mela": l. Private to "merma": r.
"mela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "merma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mela" for "merma" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mela" vs "merma" - which ranks higher?
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 "mela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "merma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #39,186 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mela" and "merma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mela vs melaza". 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 #39,186 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.