matamosvsMatosTell them apart

Quick tell: matamos is a verb, Matos is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“matamos” is a verb and “Matos” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,766
“matamos” frequency rank
#28,443
“Matos” frequency rank
51209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matamos Matos
Definition Primera persona del plural (nosotros, nosotras) del presente de indicativo de matar o de matarse. Apellido.

Where the eye mixes matamos and Matos

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. matamos runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against Matos's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
matamos
5 ch
Matos

Why the eye confuses matamos with Matos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: matamos is [maˈt̪amos] while Matos is [ˈmat̪os]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matamos is recorded at frequency rank #22,766, classified as averb, pronounced [maˈt̪amos]. Matos is at rank #28,443, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈmat̪os].

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 51209, this pair ranks #99,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matamos vs Matos

Shared letters: amost. Private to "matamos": -. Private to "Matos": -.

"matamos" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "Matos" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • matamos ← amtamos · maatmos · matammos · matamoss · matamso · mataoms · matmaos · mattamos
  • Matos ← amtos · maots · matoss · matso · mattos · mmatos · mtaos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "matamos" for "Matos" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "matamos" is a verb and "Matos" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "matamos" or "Matos" show up more?
"matamos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,766 in our Spanish list, against #28,443 for "Matos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "matamos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Matos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #99,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "matamos" and "Matos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matos vs mulatos". 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 #99,042 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