Which to use
“maio” is a noun and “mi” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #523
- “maio” frequency rank
- #3,342
- “mi” frequency rank
- 3865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maio | mi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | quinto mês do ano civil, formado por 31 dias | mim |
Where the eye mixes maio and mi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between maio and mi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maio is /ˈmaj.ju/ while mi is /ˈmi/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maio is recorded at frequency rank #523, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaj.ju/. 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 3865, this pair ranks #71,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maio vs mi
Shared letters: im. Private to "maio": ao. Private to "mi": -.
"maio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "mi" · 2 letters · shape CV
Known mistypes of this pair
- maio ← amio · maoi · miao · mmaio
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maio" and "mi" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "maio" or "mi" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "maio" 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 #71,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maio" and "mi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mi". 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 #71,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.