Which to use
“mala” is an adjective and “más” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #748
- “mala” frequency rank
- #24
- “más” frequency rank
- 772
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mala | más |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del femenino singular de malo. | En comparación implícita o explícita, indica "mayor cantidad de, exceso, aumento, superioridad, preferencia". Comparativo irregular de mucho |
Where the eye mixes mala and más
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mala vs más
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mala is [ˈmala] while más is [ˈmas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mala is recorded at frequency rank #748, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈmala]. más is at rank #24, tagged as anadv, pronounced [ˈmas].
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 772, this pair ranks #322,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mala vs más
Shared letters: m. Private to "mala": al. Private to "más": sá.
"mala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "más" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mala ← amla · maal · mlaa · mmala
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mala" and "más" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mala" or "más"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mala" and "más" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "más" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mala" and "más" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "más vs mur". 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 #322,971 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.