maçã vs machão, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“maçã” and “machão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,309
“maçã” frequency rank: #37,901
“machão” frequency rank: 45210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	maçã	machão
Definition	o fruto comestível da macieira	mulher de aspecto e de modos varonis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maçã and machão apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

maçã

6 ch

machão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. maçã (/mɐ.ˈsɐ̃/) and machão (/mɐ.ˈʃɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

maçã is recorded at frequency rank #7,309, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈsɐ̃/. machão is at rank #37,901, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈʃɐ̃w̃/.

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 45210, this pair ranks #20,187 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of maçã vs machão

Shared letters: amã. Private to "maçã": ç. Private to "machão": cho.

"maçã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "machão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

maçã#7,309

machão#37,901

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "maçã" and "machão" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/mɐ.ˈsɐ̃/ versus /mɐ.ˈʃɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "maçã" or "machão"?

"maçã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,309 in our Portuguese list, against #37,901 for "machão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering maçã vs machão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maçã” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable