matarávsmataronWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#36,151
“matará” frequency rank
#4,526
“mataron” frequency rank
40677
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature matará mataron
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del futuro de indicativo de matar o de matarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de matar o de matarse.

Where the eye mixes matará and mataron

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

6 ch
matará
7 ch
mataron

Visual trap between matará and mataron

A purely visual mix-up. matará ([mat̪aˈɾa]) and mataron ([maˈt̪aɾõn]) 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 40677, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

matará is recorded at frequency rank #36,151, classified as averb, pronounced [mat̪aˈɾa]. mataron is at rank #4,526, tagged as averb, pronounced [maˈt̪aɾõn].

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 40677, this pair ranks #157,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of matará vs mataron

Shared letters: amrt. Private to "matará": á. Private to "mataron": no.

"matará" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "mataron" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mataronamtaron · maatron · mataorn · matarno · mataronn · matarron · matraon · mattaron

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "matará" for "mataron" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([mat̪aˈɾa] versus [maˈt̪aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "matará" vs "mataron" - which ranks higher?
"mataron" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,526 in our Spanish list, against #36,151 for "matará". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "matará" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "mataron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #157,824 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "matará" and "mataron" 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 #157,824 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