Which to use
“mesa” is a noun and “mesmo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- #56
- “mesmo” frequency rank
- 1420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesa | mesmo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola | que tem igualdade de caráter |
Where the eye mixes mesa and mesmo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mesa vs mesmo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mesa is /ˈme.zɐ/ while mesmo is /ˈmeʒ.mu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mesa is recorded at frequency rank #1,364, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈme.zɐ/. mesmo is at rank #56, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmeʒ.mu/.
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 1420, this pair ranks #74,156 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mesa vs mesmo
Shared letters: ems. Private to "mesa": a. Private to "mesmo": o.
"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mesmo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mesa" for "mesmo" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mesa" or "mesmo"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mesa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mesmo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,156 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mesa" and "mesmo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mesa". 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 #74,156 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.