Which to use
“ministério” and “mistério” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #742
- “ministério” frequency rank
- #3,920
- “mistério” frequency rank
- 4662
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ministério | mistério |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ocupação, ofício, profissão manual | conjunto de doutrinas restritas aos iniciados |
Where the eye mixes ministério and mistério
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. ministério runs 10 letters (CVCVCCVCVV) against mistério's 8 (CVCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: ministério vs mistério
A purely visual mix-up. ministério (/mɨ.niʃ.ˈtɛ.ɾju/) and mistério (/miʃ.ˈtɛ.ɾju/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4662, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ministério is recorded at frequency rank #742, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɨ.niʃ.ˈtɛ.ɾju/. mistério is at rank #3,920, tagged as anoun, pronounced /miʃ.ˈtɛ.ɾju/.
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 4662, this pair ranks #70,165 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ministério vs mistério
Shared letters: imorsté. Private to "ministério": n. Private to "mistério": -.
"ministério" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCCVCVV · "mistério" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ministério" for "mistério" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ministério" or "mistério" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "ministério" and "mistério" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ministério" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mistério" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,165 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ministério" and "mistério" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Minister vs ministério". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #70,165 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.