Which to use
“melão” and “metal” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,854
- “melão” frequency rank
- #3,027
- “metal” frequency rank
- 20881
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | melão | metal |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o fruto do meloeiro, Cucumis melo | toda substância simples, dotada de brilho próprio (brilho metálico), boa condutora de calor e de eletricidade, que forma óxidos básicos em contato com o oxigênio, e que na eletrólise se dirige ao pólo negativo |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set melão and metal apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. melão (/mɨ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/) and metal (/mɨ.ˈtaɫ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20881, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
melão is recorded at frequency rank #17,854, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɨ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/. metal is at rank #3,027, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɨ.ˈtaɫ/.
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 20881, this pair ranks #49,527 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of melão vs metal
Shared letters: elm. Private to "melão": oã. Private to "metal": at.
"melão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "metal" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- metal ← emtal · meatl · metall · metla · mettal · mmetal · mteal
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "melão" and "metal" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "melão" or "metal"?
Remembering melão vs metal
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “melão” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable