matarvsmataráConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,383
“matar” frequency rank
#36,151
“matará” frequency rank
37534
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matar matará
Definition Quitar la vida. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de matar o de matarse.

Where the eye mixes matar and matará

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
matar
6 ch
matará

Why the eye confuses matar with matará

A purely visual mix-up. matar ([maˈt̪aɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “matar” sits inside “matará”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37534, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matar is recorded at frequency rank #1,383, classified as averb, pronounced [maˈt̪aɾ]. 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 37534, this pair ranks #174,804 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matar vs matará

Shared letters: amrt. Private to "matar": -. Private to "matará": á.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mataramtar · maatr · matarr · matra · mattar · mmatar · mtaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "matar" and "matará" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([maˈt̪aɾ] versus [mat̪aˈɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "matar" or "matará"?
"matar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,383 in our Spanish list, against #36,151 for "matará". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "matar" 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 #174,804 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "matar" 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 #174,804 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