mais ou menos

phrase

The verdict

“mais ou menos” is outside the top-ranked Portuguese vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency Portuguese
13
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - razoavelmente, um pouco

Key facts for mais ou menos
PropertyValue
Headwordmais ou menos
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechPhrase
Letters13
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “mais ou menos” sits in Portuguese frequency

mais ou menos falls outside the top-100,000 ranked Portuguese words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for mais ou menos is 13 letters long, classified as a phrase. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "razoavelmente, um pouco".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for mais ou menos, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is mais ou menos, spelled M-A-I-S- -O-U- -M-E-N-O-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    razoavelmente, um pouco

Synonyms

+/-

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mais ou menos"?
"mais ou menos" is spelled M-A-I-S- -O-U- -M-E-N-O-S.
What does "mais ou menos" mean?
As a phrase, "mais ou menos" means: razoavelmente, um pouco
What language does "mais ou menos" come from?
"mais ou menos" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “mais ou menos”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Portuguese spelling is M-A-I-S- -O-U- -M-E-N-O-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list