Which to use
“maíz” and “matiz” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,806
- “maíz” frequency rank
- #21,060
- “matiz” frequency rank
- 25866
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maíz | matiz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Zea mays) Planta anual, herbácea, de la familia de las poáceas, originaria de América y hoy cultivada en todo el mundo como alimento. Tiene tallos erectos, en forma de caña, de hasta 3 m de altura, hojas densamente apretadas que protegen las inflorescencias femeninas y un penacho terminal de flores masculinas. La espádice femenina se transforma en un fruto compuesto llamado mazorca, con los granos dispuestos en hileras sobre un eje leñoso | Gradación de un color. |
Where the eye mixes maíz and matiz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maíz vs matiz
A purely visual mix-up. maíz ([maˈis]) and matiz ([maˈt̪is]) 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 25866, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maíz is recorded at frequency rank #4,806, classified as anoun, pronounced [maˈis]. matiz is at rank #21,060, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maˈt̪is].
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 25866, this pair ranks #234,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maíz vs matiz
Shared letters: amz. Private to "maíz": í. Private to "matiz": it.
"maíz" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "matiz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- matiz ← amtiz · maitz · matizz · mattiz · matzi · mmatiz · mtaiz
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maíz" for "matiz" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "maíz" or "matiz" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "maíz" and "matiz" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "maíz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matiz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #234,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maíz" and "matiz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "math vs matiz". 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 #234,441 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.