Which to use
“maçã” is a noun and “mau” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,309
- “maçã” frequency rank
- #1,936
- “mau” frequency rank
- 9245
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maçã | mau |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | o fruto comestível da macieira | que não é de boa qualidade, ruim |
Where the eye mixes maçã and mau
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between maçã and mau
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maçã is /mɐ.ˈsɐ̃/ while mau is /ˈmaw/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9245, 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/. mau is at rank #1,936, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaw/.
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 9245, this pair ranks #64,253 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maçã vs mau
Shared letters: am. Private to "maçã": ãç. Private to "mau": u.
"maçã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mau" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maçã" for "mau" ever safe?
Frequency check: "maçã" vs "mau" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maçã" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mau" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,253 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maçã" and "mau" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs maçã". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #64,253 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.