Which to use
“Macau” and “maço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,178
- “Macau” frequency rank
- #25,742
- “maço” frequency rank
- 32920
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Macau | maço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | região administrativa especial da China, administrada por Portugal até 1999, onde o português é uma das línguas oficiais | instrumento de madeira encabado para uso de carpinteiros, escultores, etc. |
Where the eye mixes Macau and maço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Macau vs maço
A purely visual mix-up. Macau (/ma.ˈkaw/) and maço (/ˈma.su/) 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 32920, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Macau is recorded at frequency rank #7,178, classified as anoun, pronounced /ma.ˈkaw/. maço is at rank #25,742, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.su/.
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 32920, this pair ranks #34,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Macau vs maço
Shared letters: am. Private to "Macau": cu. Private to "maço": oç.
"Macau" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "maço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- Macau ← amcau · maacu · maccau · macua · mcaau · mmacau
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Macau" and "maço" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "Macau" or "maço"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "Macau" and "maço" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Macau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Macau" and "maço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs maço". 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 #34,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.