macacãovsmachãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#23,720
“macacão” frequency rank
#37,901
“machão” frequency rank
61621
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature macacão machão
Definition macaco grande mulher de aspecto e de modos varonis

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set macacão and machão apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
macacão
6 ch
machão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. macacão (/mɐ.kɐ.ˈkɐ̃w̃/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

macacão is recorded at frequency rank #23,720, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.kɐ.ˈkɐ̃w̃/. 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 61621, this pair ranks #7,045 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of macacão vs machão

Shared letters: acmoã. Private to "macacão": -. Private to "machão": h.

"macacão" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "machão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

macacão#23,720
machão#37,901

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "macacão" and "machão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/mɐ.kɐ.ˈkɐ̃w̃/ versus /mɐ.ˈʃɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "macacão" or "machão"?
"macacão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,720 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 macacão 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 “macacão” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list