Which to use
“mask” and “mesh” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,537
- “mask” frequency rank
- #43,032
- “mesh” frequency rank
- 79569
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mask | mesh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | máscara | interstício |
Where the eye mixes mask and mesh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mask and mesh follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between mask and mesh
A purely visual mix-up. mask (/mæsk/) and mesh (/ˈmɛʃ/) 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 79569, 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/. mesh is at rank #43,032, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛʃ/.
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 79569, this pair ranks #1,485 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mask vs mesh
Shared letters: ms. Private to "mask": ak. Private to "mesh": eh.
"mask" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mesh" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mask" and "mesh" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mask" or "mesh"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mask" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mesh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,485 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mask" and "mesh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mesh 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 #1,485 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.