Which to use
“maçã” and “mecha” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,309
- “maçã” frequency rank
- #24,075
- “mecha” frequency rank
- 31384
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maçã | mecha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o fruto comestível da macieira | porção de cabelos ou pelos |
Where the eye mixes maçã and mecha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maçã vs mecha
A purely visual mix-up. maçã (/mɐ.ˈsɐ̃/) and mecha (/ˈmɛ.ʃɐ/) 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 31384, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maçã is recorded at frequency rank #7,309, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈsɐ̃/. mecha is at rank #24,075, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.ʃɐ/.
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 31384, this pair ranks #36,730 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maçã vs mecha
Shared letters: am. Private to "maçã": ãç. Private to "mecha": ceh.
"maçã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mecha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mecha ← emcha · mceha · mecah · meccha · mechha · mehca · mmecha
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maçã" for "mecha" ever safe?
Frequency check: "maçã" vs "mecha" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maçã" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mecha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,730 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maçã" and "mecha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mecha vs mesh". 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 #36,730 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.