Which to use
“match” is a noun and “maten” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #19,795
- “match” frequency rank
- #10,371
- “maten” frequency rank
- 30166
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | match | maten |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cerilla, cerillo. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de matar o de matarse. |
Where the eye mixes match and maten
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between match and maten
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: match is /mæt͡ʃ/ while maten is [ˈmat̪ẽn]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
match is recorded at frequency rank #19,795, classified as anoun, pronounced /mæt͡ʃ/. maten is at rank #10,371, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈmat̪ẽn].
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 30166, this pair ranks #213,352 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of match vs maten
Shared letters: amt. Private to "match": ch. Private to "maten": en.
"match" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "maten" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "match" and "maten" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "match" or "maten" show up more?
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 "match" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maten" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #213,352 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "match" and "maten" 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 #213,352 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.