Which to use
“mercê” and “messe” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,186
- “mercê” frequency rank
- #44,487
- “messe” frequency rank
- 58673
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mercê | messe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | paga, soldada, preço ou recompensa por algum trabalho ou serviço | lugar no qual os sargentos ou oficiais se concentram com finalidade de refeiçoar |
Letter map: mercê vs messe
Shared letters muted; letters that set mercê and messe apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Corpus notes: mercê and messe
mercê and messe are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mercê is recorded at frequency rank #14,186, classified as anoun. messe is at rank #44,487, tagged as anoun.
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 58673, this pair ranks #8,606 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mercê vs messe
Shared letters: em. Private to "mercê": crê. Private to "messe": s.
"mercê" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "messe" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- messe ← emsse · mese · mmesse · msese
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mercê" for "messe" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mercê" or "messe" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "mercê" vs "messe" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "mercê" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "messe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #8,606 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mercê" and "messe" 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 #8,606 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.