metanovsmetroWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“metano” and “metro” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,398
“metano” frequency rank
#4,246
“metro” frequency rank
29644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metano metro
Definition substância cujas moléculas são formadas por um átomo de carbono ligado a quatro de hidrogênio; tem fórmula CH₄ medida que regula a quantidade de sílabas de cada verso

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set metano and metro apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
metano
5 ch
metro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. metano (/me.ˈtã.nu/) and metro (/ˈmɛ.tɾu/) 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 29644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metano is recorded at frequency rank #25,398, classified as anoun, pronounced /me.ˈtã.nu/. metro is at rank #4,246, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɾu/.

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 29644, this pair ranks #38,937 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of metano vs metro

Shared letters: emot. Private to "metano": an. Private to "metro": r.

"metano" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "metro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metanoemtano · meatno · metanno · metaon · metnao · mettano · mmetano · mteano
  • metroemtro · merto · metor · metrro · mettro · mmetro · mtero

Frequency comparison

metano#25,398
metro#4,246

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "metano" and "metro" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/me.ˈtã.nu/ versus /ˈmɛ.tɾu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "metano" or "metro"?
"metro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,246 in our Portuguese list, against #25,398 for "metano". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering metano vs metro

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “metano” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list