metrovsmitoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,246
“metro” frequency rank
#4,250
“mito” frequency rank
8496
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature metro mito
Definition medida que regula a quantidade de sílabas de cada verso história maravilhosa sobre deuses, semideuses, heróis e aspectos da vida das pessoas em um passado muito distante

Where the eye mixes metro and mito

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
metro
4 ch
mito

Why the eye confuses metro with mito

A purely visual mix-up. metro (/ˈmɛ.tɾu/) and mito (/ˈmi.tu/) 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 8496, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

metro is recorded at frequency rank #4,246, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.tɾu/. mito is at rank #4,250, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmi.tu/.

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 8496, this pair ranks #65,246 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of metro vs mito

Shared letters: mot. Private to "metro": er. Private to "mito": i.

"metro" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mito" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • metroemtro · merto · metor · metrro · mettro · mmetro · mtero
  • mitoimto · miot · mitto · mmito · mtio

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "metro" and "mito" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmɛ.tɾu/ versus /ˈmi.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "metro" vs "mito" - which ranks higher?
"metro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,246 in our Portuguese list, against #4,250 for "mito". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "metro" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mito" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #65,246 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "metro" and "mito" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mito 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 #65,246 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list