mala

//ˈma.lɐ// noun

Letters

4 characters

Frequency Rank

#4,568

in Portuguese word usage

Misspellings

4

tracked variants

Confusables

20

similar word pairs

mala is aPortuguesenoun. It means: bolsa (geralmente de couro ou pano e com cadeado) usada para carregar dinheiro, documentos e outros objetos Pronounced /ˈma.lɐ/. It ranks #4,568 in Portuguese word frequency. Often confused with mas and mil.

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)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of mala in Portuguese word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Portuguese entry for mala is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈma.lɐ/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,568 in overall Portuguese word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 14 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for mala, with forms such as "maal", "malla", and "mlaa". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, 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.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct Portuguese form is mala, spelled M-A-L-A, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: maal,malla,mlaa,mmala

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for mala

Misspelling Variants of "mala"

maal4malla5mlaa4mmala5
Misspelling Variants of "mala"

Frequency rank: #4,568 in Portuguese

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 covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Nearby Portuguese words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our Portuguese index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.