Which to use
“mate” is an adjective and “mine” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,048
- “mate” frequency rank
- #14,187
- “mine” frequency rank
- 21235
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mate | mine |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sem brilho | primeira pessoa do singular do presente do subjuntivo do verbo minar |
Where the eye mixes mate and mine
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mate with mine
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mate is /ˈma.tɨ/ while mine is /ˈmi.ni/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21235, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mate is recorded at frequency rank #7,048, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈma.tɨ/. mine is at rank #14,187, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈmi.ni/.
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 21235, this pair ranks #49,085 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mate vs mine
Shared letters: em. Private to "mate": at. Private to "mine": in.
"mate" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mate" for "mine" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mate" vs "mine" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mate" and "mine" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mate" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mine" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,085 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mate" and "mine" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mens vs mine". 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 #49,085 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.