Which to use
“mesa” and “morsa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,364
- “mesa” frequency rank
- #41,617
- “morsa” frequency rank
- 42981
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesa | morsa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | móvel usado como superfície para se alimentar, conversar, estudar; távola | mamífero da espécie Odobenus rosmarus |
Where the eye mixes mesa and morsa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. mesa runs 4 letters (CVCV) against morsa's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mesa vs morsa
A purely visual mix-up. mesa (/ˈme.zɐ/) and morsa (/ˈmɔɹ.sa/) 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 42981, 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/. morsa is at rank #41,617, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɔɹ.sa/.
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 42981, this pair ranks #22,715 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mesa vs morsa
Shared letters: ams. Private to "mesa": e. Private to "morsa": or.
"mesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "morsa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mesa" for "morsa" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mesa" or "morsa" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mesa" and "morsa" 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 "morsa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,715 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mesa" and "morsa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mirra vs morsa". 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 #22,715 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.