meu vs moi, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#46
“meu” frequency rank: #20,946
“moi” frequency rank: 20992
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	meu	moi
Definition	de posse da primeira pessoa do singular (eu); pertencente a mim	mim, eu, pronome pessoal tónico da primeira pessoa do singular:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set meu and moi apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

meu

3 ch

moi

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. meu (/ˈmew/) and moi (/mwa/) 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 20992, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

meu is recorded at frequency rank #46, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈmew/. moi is at rank #20,946, tagged as apron, pronounced /mwa/.

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 20992, this pair ranks #49,381 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of meu vs moi

Shared letters: m. Private to "meu": eu. Private to "moi": io.

"meu" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "moi" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

meu#46

moi#20,946

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "meu" and "moi" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈmew/ versus /mwa/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "meu" or "moi"?

"meu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #46 in our Portuguese list, against #20,946 for "moi". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering meu vs moi

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 “meu” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable