Which to use
“Medusa” and “mesa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,386
- “Medusa” frequency rank
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- 25750
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Medusa | mesa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Medusa | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola |
Where the eye mixes Medusa and mesa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Medusa runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against mesa's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between Medusa and mesa
A purely visual mix-up. Medusa (/me̞ˈð̞u.sa̠/) and mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Medusa is recorded at frequency rank #24,386, classified as anoun, pronounced /me̞ˈð̞u.sa̠/. mesa is at rank #1,364, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈme.zɐ/.
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 25750, this pair ranks #43,511 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Medusa vs mesa
Shared letters: aems. Private to "Medusa": du. Private to "mesa": -.
"Medusa" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Medusa" for "mesa" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Medusa" or "mesa"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "Medusa" and "mesa" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Medusa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mesa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,511 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Medusa" and "mesa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mesa". 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 #43,511 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.