mask vs mês, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#36,537
“mask” frequency rank: #444
“mês” frequency rank: 36981
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mask	mês
Definition	máscara	cada uma das doze partes em que se divide o ano

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

mask

3 ch

mês

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mask (/mæsk/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36981, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mask is recorded at frequency rank #36,537, classified as anoun, pronounced /mæsk/. 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 36981, this pair ranks #29,731 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mask vs mês

Shared letters: ms. Private to "mask": ak. Private to "mês": ê.

"mask" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mês" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

mask ← amsk · maks · maskk · massk · mmask · msak

Frequency comparison

mask#36,537

mês#444

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mask" and "mês" be used interchangeably?

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

Which is more common, "mask" or "mês"?

"mês" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #444 in our Portuguese list, against #36,537 for "mask". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mask vs mês

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 “mask” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable