Which to use
“mein” is a pronoun and “mesa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,545
- “mein” frequency rank
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- 37909
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mein | mesa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | meu, minha, pronome possessivo da primeira pessoa do singular: | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola |
Where the eye mixes mein and mesa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mein (CVVC) and mesa (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: mein vs mesa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mein is /maɪ̯n/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while mesa is /ˈme.zɐ/. 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 (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37909, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mein is recorded at frequency rank #36,545, classified as apron, pronounced /maɪ̯n/ ouvir^(fonte ?). 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 37909, this pair ranks #28,635 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mein vs mesa
Shared letters: em. Private to "mein": in. Private to "mesa": as.
"mein" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mein" and "mesa" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mein" or "mesa"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mein" 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 #28,635 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mein" and "mesa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mein vs mens". 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 #28,635 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.