Which to use
“mel” is a noun and “mui” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,843
- “mel” frequency rank
- #23,741
- “mui” frequency rank
- 26584
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mel | mui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | substância doce, espessa e viscosa elaborada pelas abelhas nas colmeias | em alto grau |
Where the eye mixes mel and mui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between mel and mui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mel is /ˈmɛɫ/ while mui is /ˈmũj/. 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 (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26584, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mel is recorded at frequency rank #2,843, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛɫ/. mui is at rank #23,741, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈmũj/.
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 26584, this pair ranks #42,557 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mel vs mui
Shared letters: m. Private to "mel": el. Private to "mui": iu.
"mel" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mel" and "mui" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mel" or "mui" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,557 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mel" and "mui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #42,557 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.