Which to use
“macaca” is a noun and “matava” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #28,268
- “macaca” frequency rank
- #20,939
- “matava” frequency rank
- 49207
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | macaca | matava |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | jogo infantil sobre uma figura geométrica riscada no chão, com quadrinhos sobre os que se avança tirando uma pedra | primeira e terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do modo indicativo do verbo matar |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set macaca and matava apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
macaca and matava form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
macaca is recorded at frequency rank #28,268, classified as anoun. matava is at rank #20,939, tagged as averb, pronounced /ma.ˈta.vɐ/.
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 49207, this pair ranks #15,853 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "macaca" and "matava" be used interchangeably?
Remembering macaca vs matava
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “macaca”; for a verb, it's “matava”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “macaca” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable