Which to use
“mens” and “mesas” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #47,487
- “mens” frequency rank
- #6,789
- “mesas” frequency rank
- 54276
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mens | mesas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pessoa, humano, homem | plural de mesa: |
Where the eye mixes mens and mesas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mens runs 4 letters (CVCC) against mesas's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mens with mesas
A purely visual mix-up. mens ([ mɛns ]) and mesas (/ˈme.zɐs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54276, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mens is recorded at frequency rank #47,487, classified as anoun, pronounced [ mɛns ]. mesas is at rank #6,789, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈme.zɐs/.
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 54276, this pair ranks #11,391 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mens vs mesas
Shared letters: ems. Private to "mens": n. Private to "mesas": a.
"mens" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mesas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mens" for "mesas" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mens" or "mesas"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mens" and "mesas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mens" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mesas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,391 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mens" and "mesas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mens vs messe". 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 #11,391 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.