Which to use
“mesa” and “metas” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- #6,791
- “metas” frequency rank
- 8155
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesa | metas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola | plural de meta |
Where the eye mixes mesa and metas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mesa vs metas
A purely visual mix-up. mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) and metas (/ˈmɛ.tɐs/) 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 8155, 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/. metas is at rank #6,791, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɐs/.
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 8155, this pair ranks #65,733 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mesa vs metas
Shared letters: aems. Private to "mesa": -. Private to "metas": t.
"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "metas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mesa" for "metas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mesa" vs "metas" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mesa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,733 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mesa" and "metas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mens vs metas". 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 #65,733 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.