Which to use
“mãe” is a noun and “mim” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #170
- “mãe” frequency rank
- #113
- “mim” frequency rank
- 283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mãe | mim |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mulher que tem ou teve filhos, naturais ou adotivos | caso oblíquo do pronome pessoal da primeira pessoa, usado após preposições (a, ante, após, até, contra, de, desde, entre, para, por, sem, sobre) |
Where the eye mixes mãe and mim
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mãe is /ˈmɐ̃j̃/ while mim is /ˈmĩ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mãe is recorded at frequency rank #170, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃j̃/. mim is at rank #113, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈmĩ/.
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 283, this pair ranks #75,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mãe vs mim
Shared letters: m. Private to "mãe": eã. Private to "mim": i.
"mãe" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mim" · 3 letters · shape CVC