Which to use
“mão” and “mijo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #451
- “mão” frequency rank
- #31,051
- “mijo” frequency rank
- 31502
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mão | mijo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | extremidade do membro anterior dos primatas, capaz de manipular objetos; parte do corpo semelhante ou análoga em outros animais | urina |
Where the eye mixes mão and mijo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mão and mijo
A purely visual mix-up. mão (/mãw/) and mijo (/ˈmi.ʒu/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31502, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mão is recorded at frequency rank #451, classified as anoun, pronounced /mãw/. mijo is at rank #31,051, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmi.ʒu/.
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 31502, this pair ranks #36,541 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mão vs mijo
Shared letters: mo. Private to "mão": ã. Private to "mijo": ij.
"mão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mijo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mijo ← imjo · mijjo · mioj · mjio · mmijo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mão" for "mijo" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mão" or "mijo"?
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 "mijo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,541 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mão" and "mijo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mijo vs muso". 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 #36,541 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.