mvsmiTell them apart

Quick tell: m is a symbol, mi is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“m” is a symbol and “mi” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#701
“m” frequency rank
#3,342
“mi” frequency rank
4043
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature m mi
Definition símbolo de metro mim

Letter map: m vs mi

Shared letters muted; letters that set m and mi apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

1 ch
m
2 ch
mi

Grammar separator: m vs mi

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: m is asymbol and miapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “m” sits inside “mi”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

m is recorded at frequency rank #701, classified as asymbol. mi is at rank #3,342, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈmi/.

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 4043, this pair ranks #70,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of m vs mi

Shared letters: m. Private to "m": -. Private to "mi": i.

"m" · 1 letters · shape C  ·  "mi" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "m" for "mi" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "m" is a symbol and "mi" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "m" vs "mi" - which ranks higher?
"m" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #701 in our Portuguese list, against #3,342 for "mi". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "m" vs "mi" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "m" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "m" and "mi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mi". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #70,984 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list