MannvsmeanWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: Mann is a noun, mean is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Mann” is a noun and “mean” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,039
“Mann” frequency rank
#18,388
“mean” frequency rank
43427
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mann mean
Definition indivíduo adulto do sexo masculino maldoso, mau, cruel

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Mann and mean apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
Mann
4 ch
mean

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mann is /man/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while mean is /ˈmiːn/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43427, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mann is recorded at frequency rank #25,039, classified as anoun, pronounced /man/ ouvir^(fonte ?). mean is at rank #18,388, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmiːn/.

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 43427, this pair ranks #22,211 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Mann vs mean

Shared letters: amn. Private to "Mann": -. Private to "mean": e.

"Mann" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "mean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Mannamnn · mmann · mnan
  • meaneman · maen · meann · mena · mmean

Frequency comparison

Mann#25,039
mean#18,388

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mann" and "mean" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Mann" is a noun and "mean" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "Mann" or "mean"?
"mean" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,388 in our Portuguese list, against #25,039 for "Mann". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Mann vs mean

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Mann”; for an adjective, it's “mean”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Mann” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list