mañasvsmataWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#31,436
“mañas” frequency rank
#2,618
“mata” frequency rank
34054
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mañas mata
Definition Forma del plural de maña. Planta de poca altura y tallo múltiple o ramificado.

Where the eye mixes mañas and mata

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
mañas
4 ch
mata

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mañas ([ˈmaɲas]) and mata ([ˈmat̪a]) 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 34054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mañas is recorded at frequency rank #31,436, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɲas]. mata is at rank #2,618, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈmat̪a].

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 34054, this pair ranks #193,479 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mañas vs mata

Shared letters: am. Private to "mañas": . Private to "mata": t.

"mañas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "mata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mataamta · maat · mmata · mtaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mañas" and "mata" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈmaɲas] versus [ˈmat̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mañas" or "mata"?
"mata" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,618 in our Spanish list, against #31,436 for "mañas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "mañas" and "mata". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "mañas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #193,479 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "mañas" and "mata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "makes vs mañas". 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

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list