Which to use
“mesa” and “mira” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- #7,185
- “mira” frequency rank
- 8549
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesa | mira |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola | ato ou efeito de mirar |
Where the eye mixes mesa and mira
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mesa and mira
A purely visual mix-up. mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) and mira (/ˈmi.ɾɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8549, 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/. mira is at rank #7,185, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmi.ɾɐ/.
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 8549, this pair ranks #65,181 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mesa vs mira
Shared letters: am. Private to "mesa": es. Private to "mira": ir.
"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mira" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mesa" and "mira" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mesa" or "mira"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "mesa" and "mira" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mesa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mira" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,181 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mesa" and "mira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mira vs mirra". 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 #65,181 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.