Which to use
“maa” is a noun and “matar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #48,525
- “maa” frequency rank
- #1,053
- “matar” frequency rank
- 49578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maa | matar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | chão, solo | causar morte, tirar a vida |
Letter map: maa vs matar
Shared letters muted; letters that set maa and matar apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. maa runs 3 letters (CVV) against matar's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Role in the sentence - maa and matar
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: maa is anoun and mataraverb. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maa is recorded at frequency rank #48,525, classified as anoun. matar is at rank #1,053, tagged as averb, pronounced /mɐ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 49578, this pair ranks #15,426 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maa vs matar
Shared letters: am. Private to "maa": -. Private to "matar": rt.
"maa" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "matar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- matar ← amtar · maatr · matarr · matra · mattar · mmatar · mtaar
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maa" for "matar" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "maa" or "matar" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "maa" vs "matar" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "maa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,426 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maa" and "matar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs malva". 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 #15,426 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.