MataróvsMatasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,700
“Mataró” frequency rank
#11,449
“Matas” frequency rank
55149
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Mataró Matas
Definition Ciudad española de la provincia de Barcelona a orillas del Mediterráneo. Apellido.

Where the eye mixes Mataró and Matas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Mataró runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against Matas's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
Mataró
5 ch
Matas

Why the eye confuses Mataró with Matas

A purely visual mix-up. Mataró ([mat̪aˈɾo]) and Matas ([ˈmat̪as]) 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 55149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Mataró is recorded at frequency rank #43,700, classified as aname, pronounced [mat̪aˈɾo]. Matas is at rank #11,449, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈmat̪as].

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 55149, this pair ranks #80,191 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Mataró vs Matas

Shared letters: amt. Private to "Mataró": ró. Private to "Matas": s.

"Mataró" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Matas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Matas ← amtas · maats · matass · matsa · mattas · mmatas · mtaas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Mataró" and "Matas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([mat̪aˈɾo] versus [ˈmat̪as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Mataró" or "Matas"?
"Matas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,449 in our Spanish list, against #43,700 for "Mataró". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Mataró" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Matas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #80,191 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Mataró" and "Matas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "magro vs Mataró". 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 #80,191 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