Which to use
“mal” is an adverb and “mec” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #319
- “mal” frequency rank
- #8,225
- “mec” frequency rank
- 8544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mal | mec |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | de forma pouco satisfatória | tranquilo |
Letter map: mal vs mec
Shared letters muted; letters that set mal and mec apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Part-of-speech tell for mal / mec
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mal is anadverb and mecanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mal is recorded at frequency rank #319, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈmaw/. mec is at rank #8,225, tagged as anadj.
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 8544, this pair ranks #65,186 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mal vs mec
Shared letters: m. Private to "mal": al. Private to "mec": ce.
"mal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mec" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mal" and "mec" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mal" vs "mec" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pair "mal" vs "mec" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "mal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mec" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,186 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mal" and "mec" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mec". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #65,186 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.