mesavsmotaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mesa” and “mota” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,058
“mesa” frequency rank
#13,095
“mota” frequency rank
14153
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mesa mota
Definition Mueble que consta de una superficie plana y horizontal sostenida por patas. Conjunto pequeño de partículas, usualmente aplicado al polvo o similares.

Where the eye mixes mesa and mota

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
mesa
4 ch
mota

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mesa ([ˈmesa]) and mota ([ˈmot̪a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14153, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mesa is recorded at frequency rank #1,058, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmesa]. mota is at rank #13,095, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmot̪a].

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 14153, this pair ranks #285,213 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mesa vs mota

Shared letters: am. Private to "mesa": es. Private to "mota": ot.

"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mota" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mesaemsa · meas · messa · mmesa · msea
  • motammota · moat · motta · mtoa · omta

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mesa" and "mota" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmesa] versus [ˈmot̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mesa" or "mota"?
"mesa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,058 in our Spanish list, against #13,095 for "mota". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "mesa" and "mota". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mesa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mota" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #285,213 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mesa" and "mota" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "month vs mota". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list