Which to use
“mara” and “mesa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,718
- “mara” frequency rank
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- 11082
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mara | mesa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | roedor que habita as estepes da Patagônia, na Argentina (Dolichotis patagonum) | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola |
Where the eye mixes mara and mesa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mara vs mesa
A purely visual mix-up. mara (/ˈma.ɾɐ/) and mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) 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 11082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mara is recorded at frequency rank #9,718, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.ɾɐ/. mesa is at rank #1,364, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈme.zɐ/.
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 11082, this pair ranks #61,841 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mara vs mesa
Shared letters: am. Private to "mara": r. Private to "mesa": es.
"mara" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mara" and "mesa" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "mara" vs "mesa" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mara" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mesa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,841 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mara" and "mesa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mara vs mirra". 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 #61,841 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.