matanvsmatchWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: matan is a verb, match is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“matan” is a verb and “match” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,920
“matan” frequency rank
#19,795
“match” frequency rank
24715
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matan match
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de matar o de matarse. Cerilla, cerillo.

Where the eye mixes matan and match

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

5 ch
matan
5 ch
match

Visual trap between matan and match

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: matan is [ˈmat̪ãn] while match is /mæt͡ʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matan is recorded at frequency rank #4,920, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈmat̪ãn]. match is at rank #19,795, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæt͡ʃ/.

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 24715, this pair ranks #239,822 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matan vs match

Shared letters: amt. Private to "matan": n. Private to "match": ch.

"matan" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "match" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • matanamtan · maatn · matann · matna · mattan · mmatan · mtaan
  • matchamtch · macth · matcch · matchh · mathc · mattch · mmatch · mtach

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matan" and "match" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "matan" is a verb and "match" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "matan" or "match" show up more?
"matan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,920 in our Spanish list, against #19,795 for "match". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "matan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "match" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #239,822 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "matan" and "match" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "match vs math". 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 #239,822 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