Which to use
“mano” and “metano” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,493
- “mano” frequency rank
- #25,398
- “metano” frequency rank
- 28891
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mano | metano |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | irmão (todas as acepções, exceto Religião) | substância cujas moléculas são formadas por um átomo de carbono ligado a quatro de hidrogênio; tem fórmula CH₄ |
Where the eye mixes mano and metano
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mano runs 4 letters (CVCV) against metano's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mano with metano
A purely visual mix-up. mano (/ˈmã.nu/) and metano (/me.ˈtã.nu/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28891, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mano is recorded at frequency rank #3,493, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmã.nu/. metano is at rank #25,398, tagged as anoun, pronounced /me.ˈtã.nu/.
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 28891, this pair ranks #39,870 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mano vs metano
Shared letters: amno. Private to "mano": -. Private to "metano": et.
"mano" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "metano" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mano" and "metano" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mano" vs "metano" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mano" and "metano" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mano" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metano" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #39,870 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mano" and "metano" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "melado vs metano". 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 #39,870 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.