Which to use
“mão” and “mês” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #451
- “mão” frequency rank
- #444
- “mês” frequency rank
- 895
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mão | mês |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | extremidade do membro anterior dos primatas, capaz de manipular objetos; parte do corpo semelhante ou análoga em outros animais | cada uma das doze partes em que se divide o ano |
Where the eye mixes mão and mês
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mão vs mês
A purely visual mix-up. mão (/mãw/) and mês (/ˈmeʃ/) 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 895, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mão is recorded at frequency rank #451, classified as anoun, pronounced /mãw/. mês is at rank #444, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmeʃ/.
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 895, this pair ranks #74,735 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mão vs mês
Shared letters: m. Private to "mão": oã. Private to "mês": sê.
"mão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mês" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mão" and "mês" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mão" vs "mês" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mês" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,735 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mão" and "mês" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #74,735 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.