Which to use
“mesas” and “metal” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,789
- “mesas” frequency rank
- #3,027
- “metal” frequency rank
- 9816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mesas | metal |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural de mesa: | 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 mesas and metal
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mesas vs metal
A purely visual mix-up. mesas (/ˈme.zɐs/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mesas is recorded at frequency rank #6,789, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈme.zɐs/. 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 9816, this pair ranks #63,494 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mesas vs metal
Shared letters: aem. Private to "mesas": s. Private to "metal": lt.
"mesas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "metal" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mesas" for "metal" ever safe?
Frequency check: "mesas" vs "metal" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mesas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "metal" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,494 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mesas" and "metal" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mens vs mesas". 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 #63,494 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.