Which to use
“meio” is an adjective and “modo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #190
- “meio” frequency rank
- #606
- “modo” frequency rank
- 796
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | meio | modo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | designativo de metade | maneira, jeito |
Where the eye mixes meio and modo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: meio vs modo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: meio is /ˈmɐj.u/ while modo is /ˈmɔ.du/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
meio is recorded at frequency rank #190, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmɐj.u/. modo is at rank #606, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɔ.du/.
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 796, this pair ranks #74,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of meio vs modo
Shared letters: mo. Private to "meio": ei. Private to "modo": d.
"meio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "modo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "meio" and "modo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "meio" or "modo"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "meio" and "modo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "meio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "modo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "meio" and "modo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "modo vs muso". 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 #74,858 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.