Which to use
“mão” and “mel” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #451
- “mão” frequency rank
- #2,843
- “mel” frequency rank
- 3294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mão | mel |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | extremidade do membro anterior dos primatas, capaz de manipular objetos; parte do corpo semelhante ou análoga em outros animais | substância doce, espessa e viscosa elaborada pelas abelhas nas colmeias |
Where the eye mixes mão and mel
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mão vs mel
A purely visual mix-up. mão (/mãw/) and mel (/ˈmɛɫ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3294, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mão is recorded at frequency rank #451, classified as anoun, pronounced /mãw/. mel is at rank #2,843, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛɫ/.
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 3294, this pair ranks #71,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mão vs mel
Shared letters: m. Private to "mão": oã. Private to "mel": el.
"mão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mel" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mão" and "mel" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mão" or "mel"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #71,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mão" and "mel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mel". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #71,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.