Which to use
“mara” and “marías” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,956
- “mara” frequency rank
- #26,919
- “marías” frequency rank
- 40875
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mara | marías |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pandilla de jóvenes urbanos, especialmente la de comportamiento antisocial o delictivo. | Forma del plural de maría. |
Where the eye mixes mara and marías
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. mara runs 4 letters (CVCV) against marías's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses mara with marías
A purely visual mix-up. mara ([ˈmaɾa]) and marías ([maˈɾias]) 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 40875, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mara is recorded at frequency rank #13,956, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈmaɾa]. marías is at rank #26,919, tagged as anoun, pronounced [maˈɾias].
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 40875, this pair ranks #156,723 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mara vs marías
Shared letters: amr. Private to "mara": -. Private to "marías": sí.
"mara" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "marías" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mara ← marra · mmara · mraa
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mara" and "marías" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "mara" vs "marías" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mara" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "marías" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,723 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mara" and "marías" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "marías vs Marks". 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 #156,723 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.