Which to use
“melancia” and “melanina” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,389
- “melancia” frequency rank
- #32,258
- “melanina” frequency rank
- 50647
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | melancia | melanina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | planta da família das Cucurbitáceas com grandes frutos comestíveis | pigmento na forma de proteína, responsável pela cor dos fios de cabelo, da pele, das unhas e cerdas de pelos |
Where the eye mixes melancia and melanina
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. melancia (CVCVCCVV) and melanina (CVCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses melancia with melanina
A purely visual mix-up. melancia (/mɨ.lɐ̃.ˈsi.ɐ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50647, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
melancia is recorded at frequency rank #18,389, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɨ.lɐ̃.ˈsi.ɐ/. 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 50647, this pair ranks #14,303 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of melancia vs melanina
Shared letters: aeilmn. Private to "melancia": c. Private to "melanina": -.
"melancia" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "melanina" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "melancia" for "melanina" ever safe?
Which is more common, "melancia" or "melanina"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "melancia" 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 #14,303 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "melancia" 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 #14,303 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.