Which to use
“mesa” and “Mist” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- #44,978
- “Mist” frequency rank
- 46342
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesa | Mist |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola | esterco |
Where the eye mixes mesa and Mist
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mesa and Mist
A purely visual mix-up. mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) and Mist (/mɪst/) 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 46342, 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/. Mist is at rank #44,978, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɪst/.
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 46342, this pair ranks #18,982 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mesa vs Mist
Shared letters: ms. Private to "mesa": ae. Private to "Mist": it.
"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Mist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mesa" for "Mist" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mesa" or "Mist" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mesa" and "Mist" 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 "Mist" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,982 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mesa" and "Mist" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Mist vs muso". 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 #18,982 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.