Which to use
“mat” is a noun and “meu” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,805
- “mat” frequency rank
- #46
- “meu” frequency rank
- 21851
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mat | meu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | casamento | de posse da primeira pessoa do singular (eu); pertencente a mim |
Where the eye mixes mat and meu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. mat (CVC) and meu (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses mat with meu
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mat is /mat/ while meu is /ˈmew/. 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 pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21851, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mat is recorded at frequency rank #21,805, classified as anoun, pronounced /mat/. meu is at rank #46, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈmew/.
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 21851, this pair ranks #48,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mat vs meu
Shared letters: m. Private to "mat": at. Private to "meu": eu.
"mat" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "meu" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mat" for "meu" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mat" vs "meu" - which ranks higher?
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 "mat" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "meu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mat" and "meu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mat". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #48,308 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.