mãos vs mens, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“mãos” and “mens” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#761
“mãos” frequency rank: #47,487
“mens” frequency rank: 48248
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mãos	mens
Definition	plural de mão	pessoa, humano, homem

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mãos and mens apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

mãos

4 ch

mens

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mãos (/ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/) and mens ([ mɛns ]) 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 48248, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mãos is recorded at frequency rank #761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/. mens is at rank #47,487, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ mɛns ].

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 48248, this pair ranks #16,948 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mãos vs mens

Shared letters: ms. Private to "mãos": oã. Private to "mens": en.

"mãos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

mens ← emns · menns · menss · mesn · mmens · mnes

Frequency comparison

mãos#761

mens#47,487

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mãos" and "mens" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/ versus [ mɛns ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "mãos" or "mens"?

"mãos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #761 in our Portuguese list, against #47,487 for "mens". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mãos vs mens

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mãos” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable