Which to use
“m” is a symbol and “mãe” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #701
- “m” frequency rank
- #170
- “mãe” frequency rank
- 871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | m | mãe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | símbolo de metro | mulher que tem ou teve filhos, naturais ou adotivos |
Letter map: m vs mãe
Shared letters muted; letters that set m and mãe apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.
Part-of-speech tell for m / mãe
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: m is asymbol and mãeanoun. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “m” sits inside “mãe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
m is recorded at frequency rank #701, classified as asymbol. mãe is at rank #170, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃j̃/.
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 871, this pair ranks #74,768 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of m vs mãe
Shared letters: m. Private to "m": -. Private to "mãe": eã.
"m" · 1 letters · shape C · "mãe" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "m" for "mãe" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "m" or "mãe" show up more?
What to do next
Pair "m" vs "mãe" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "m" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mãe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,768 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "m" and "mãe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "m vs maa". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #74,768 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.