macacavsMaiaraWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#28,268
“macaca” frequency rank
#44,471
“Maiara” frequency rank
72739
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature macaca Maiara
Definition jogo infantil sobre uma figura geométrica riscada no chão, com quadrinhos sobre os que se avança tirando uma pedra prenome feminino

Letter map: macaca vs Maiara

Shared letters muted; letters that set macaca and Maiara apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.

6 ch
macaca
6 ch
Maiara

Spelling & dictionary notes on macaca vs Maiara

macaca and Maiara are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

macaca is recorded at frequency rank #28,268, classified as anoun. Maiara is at rank #44,471, tagged as anoun, pronounced /majˈa.ɾɐ/ [maɪ̯ˈa.ɾɐ].

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 72739, this pair ranks #2,966 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of macaca vs Maiara

Shared letters: am. Private to "macaca": c. Private to "Maiara": ir.

"macaca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "Maiara" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • macacaamcaca · maacca · macaac · macacca · maccaa · maccaca · mcaaca · mmacaca
  • Maiaraamiara · maaira · maiaar · maiarra · mairaa · miaara · mmaiara

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "macaca" for "Maiara" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "macaca" or "Maiara"?
"macaca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,268 in our Portuguese list, against #44,471 for "Maiara". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "macaca" and "Maiara".

  • Full dictionary entry for "macaca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Maiara" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,966 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "macaca" and "Maiara" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Maiara vs mirra". 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 #2,966 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