mevsmecWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: me is a pronoun, mec is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“me” is a pronoun and “mec” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#28
“me” frequency rank
#8,225
“mec” frequency rank
8253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature me mec
Definition pronome pessoal oblíquo átono da primeira pessoa do singular, usado em complementos direto do verbo: tranquilo

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
me
3 ch
mec

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

me and mec form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “me” sits inside “mec” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

me is recorded at frequency rank #28, classified as apron. mec is at rank #8,225, tagged as anadj.

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 8253, this pair ranks #65,589 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

me#28
mec#8,225

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "me" and "mec" be used interchangeably?
No, "me" and "mec" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering me vs mec

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “me”; for an adjective, it's “mec”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “me” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list