Which to use
“mesa” and “metal” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- #3,027
- “metal” frequency rank
- 4391
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesa | metal |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola | 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 eye mixes mesa and metal
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4391, 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/. 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 4391, this pair ranks #70,536 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mesa vs metal
Shared letters: aem. Private to "mesa": s. Private to "metal": lt.
"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "metal" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC