mala

/ˈma.lɐ/

//ˈma.lɐ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“mala” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #4,568) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#4,568
frequency rank, Portuguese
1,087
“M” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - bolsa (geralmente de couro ou pano e com cadeado) usada para carregar dinheiro, documentos e outros objetos

Corpus desk

Index PT-mala · mala · Portuguese

mala · rank #4,568 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,568
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,087
  • PHOTO-FINISH interação

Nearest frequency peer: interação (-2 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Vizinhos de frequência do confusável “mala”

Pares de peso semelhante no corpus, aparte dos confusáveis abaixo

corpus weight

What this shows As barras situam “mala” face aos lemas portugueses mais próximos por rank, não um reprint da secretária de confusáveis.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

mala vs mas
50% similar
mala vs mil
50% similar
mala vs mão
25% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for mala
PropertyValue
Headwordmala
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈma.lɐ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,568
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Rank de corpus junto a confusáveis de “mala”

Esta escala corre do núcleo do português quotidiano (esquerda) até o rastro de formas raras (direita).malacai aqui:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

A escala é logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× mais rara). Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “interação” (#4,566), “Melo” (#4,570), “herança” (#4,563). Entre 1,087 lemas com “M”, “mala” fica em #4,568. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for mala is neighbouring look-alikes ("mas", "mil", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈma.lɐ/. Frequency #4,568 among 1,087 “M” headwords. 14 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for mala, with forms such as "maal", "malla", and "mlaa". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "mas", "mil", "mão", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Portuguese form is mala, spelled M-A-L-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    bolsa (geralmente de couro ou pano e com cadeado) usada para carregar dinheiro, documentos e outros objetos
  2. 2
    sacola para transportar correspondência
  3. 3
    correspondência carregada nessa sacola
  4. 4
    espécie de caixa para o transporte de roupa e outros objetos em viagem
  5. 5
    bolsa ou carteira feminina
  6. 6
    pertences contidos nesses receptáculos
  7. 7
    golpe em falso no jogo da pelota
  8. 8
    barriga, estômago
  9. 9
    nádegas
  10. 10
    volume de orgão sexual masculino delineado por roupa que se veste
  11. 11
    órgãos genitais masculinos
  12. 12
    porta-malas
  13. 13
    indivíduo chato e desagradável
  14. 14
    espécie de rosário budista, com 108 contas esféricas (geralmente de madeira), usado principalmente para contar mantras

Synonyms

mala postalmala de mãobuchobundaretaguardatraseirobagosporta-bagagensmala-sem-alçamala sem alçajapa malajapamala

This word in other languages

suitcase(English)maleta(Español)valise(Français)Koffer(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • maal
  • malla
  • mlaa
  • mmala

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of mala - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

maal2malla1mlaa2mmala1
Edit distance from "mala"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mala"?
"mala" is spelled M-A-L-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈma.lɐ/.
What does "mala" mean?
As a noun, "mala" means: bolsa (geralmente de couro ou pano e com cadeado) usada para carregar dinheiro, documentos e outros objetos
What words are commonly confused with "mala"?
"mala" is commonly confused with "mas", "mil", "mão". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mala"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mala" is /ˈma.lɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "mala" come from?
"mala" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mala", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Melo#4,570good#4,562raro#4,588tomé#4,602

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list