maçãvsmapTell them apart

Quick tell: maçã is a noun, map is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“maçã” is a noun and “map” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,309
“maçã” frequency rank
#18,636
“map” frequency rank
25945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maçã map
Definition o fruto comestível da macieira mapear

Letter map: maçã vs map

Shared letters muted; letters that set maçã and map apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
maçã
3 ch
map

Grammar separator: maçã vs map

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: maçã is anoun and mapaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25945, 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/. map is at rank #18,636, tagged as averb.

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 25945, this pair ranks #43,272 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of maçã vs map

Shared letters: am. Private to "maçã": ãç. Private to "map": p.

"maçã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "map" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "maçã" and "map" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "maçã" is a noun and "map" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "maçã" or "map" show up more?
"maçã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,309 in our Portuguese list, against #18,636 for "map". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "maçã" and "map".

  • Full dictionary entry for "maçã" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "map" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #43,272 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "maçã" and "map" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs map". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #43,272 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list