mamarvsmataráWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mamar” and “matará” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#21,394
“mamar” frequency rank
#36,151
“matará” frequency rank
57545
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mamar matará
Definition Aspirar con fuerza, usando los labios y la succión de la garganta para extraer algo del material o recipiente que lo contiene, en particular la leche materna del seno. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de matar o de matarse.

Where the eye mixes mamar and matará

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mamar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against matará's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
mamar
6 ch
matará

Look-alike desk: mamar vs matará

A purely visual mix-up. mamar ([maˈmaɾ]) and matará ([mat̪aˈɾa]) 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 57545, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mamar is recorded at frequency rank #21,394, classified as averb, pronounced [maˈmaɾ]. matará is at rank #36,151, tagged as averb, pronounced [mat̪aˈɾa].

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 57545, this pair ranks #70,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mamar vs matará

Shared letters: amr. Private to "mamar": -. Private to "matará": tá.

"mamar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "matará" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mamar ← maamr · mamarr · mammar · mamra · mmaar · mmamar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mamar" and "matará" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([maˈmaɾ] versus [mat̪aˈɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "mamar" or "matará" show up more?
"mamar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,394 in our Spanish list, against #36,151 for "matará". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "mamar" and "matará" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mamar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "matará" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #70,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mamar" and "matará" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "matará vs matarían". 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 #70,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list