Which to use
“mil” is an adjective and “mim” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #263
- “mil” frequency rank
- #113
- “mim” frequency rank
- 376
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mil | mim |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | muitos, inúmeros, uma grande quantidade: | caso oblíquo do pronome pessoal da primeira pessoa, usado após preposições (a, ante, após, até, contra, de, desde, entre, para, por, sem, sobre) |
Where the eye mixes mil and mim
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mil with mim
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mil is /miw/, /mil/ while mim is /ˈmĩ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - l in “mil” becomes m in “mim”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 376, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mil is recorded at frequency rank #263, classified as anadj, pronounced /miw/, /mil/. mim is at rank #113, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈmĩ/.
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 376, this pair ranks #75,257 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mil vs mim
Shared letters: im. Private to "mil": l. Private to "mim": -.
"mil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "mim" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mil" for "mim" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mil" or "mim" show up more?
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 "mil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mim" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #75,257 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mil" and "mim" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mil". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #75,257 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.