Which to use
“mecânica” and “melanina” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,115
- “mecânica” frequency rank
- #32,258
- “melanina” frequency rank
- 37373
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mecânica | melanina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ciência que estuda as forças e os movimentos bem como a teoria da ação das máquinas | pigmento na forma de proteína, responsável pela cor dos fios de cabelo, da pele, das unhas e cerdas de pelos |
Where the eye mixes mecânica and melanina
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. mecânica and melanina follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses mecânica with melanina
A purely visual mix-up. mecânica (/meˈkɐ̃.ni.kɐ/) and melanina (/mɨ.lɐ.ˈni.nɐ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mecânica is recorded at frequency rank #5,115, classified as anoun, pronounced /meˈkɐ̃.ni.kɐ/. melanina is at rank #32,258, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɨ.lɐ.ˈni.nɐ/.
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 37373, this pair ranks #29,249 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mecânica vs melanina
Shared letters: aeimn. Private to "mecânica": câ. Private to "melanina": l.
"mecânica" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "melanina" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- melanina ← emlanina · mealnina · melainna · melanian · melaninna · melannia · melannina · mellanina
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mecânica" and "melanina" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mecânica" or "melanina"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mecânica" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "melanina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,249 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mecânica" and "melanina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "melanina vs melanoma". 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 #29,249 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.