Which to use
“mão” is a noun and “mil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #451
- “mão” frequency rank
- #263
- “mil” frequency rank
- 714
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mão | mil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | extremidade do membro anterior dos primatas, capaz de manipular objetos; parte do corpo semelhante ou análoga em outros animais | muitos, inúmeros, uma grande quantidade: |
Where the eye mixes mão and mil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mão with mil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mão is /mãw/ while mil is /miw/, /mil/. 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 714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mão is recorded at frequency rank #451, classified as anoun, pronounced /mãw/. mil is at rank #263, tagged as anadj, pronounced /miw/, /mil/.
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 714, this pair ranks #74,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mão vs mil
Shared letters: m. Private to "mão": oã. Private to "mil": il.
"mão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mão" and "mil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mão" or "mil" show up more?
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 "mil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mão" and "mil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #74,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.