Which to use
“machão” and “maço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,901
- “machão” frequency rank
- #25,742
- “maço” frequency rank
- 63643
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | machão | maço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mulher de aspecto e de modos varonis | instrumento de madeira encabado para uso de carpinteiros, escultores, etc. |
Where the eye mixes machão and maço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. machão runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against maço's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses machão with maço
A purely visual mix-up. machão (/mɐ.ˈʃɐ̃w̃/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
machão is recorded at frequency rank #37,901, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈʃɐ̃w̃/. 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 63643, this pair ranks #6,107 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of machão vs maço
Shared letters: amo. Private to "machão": chã. Private to "maço": ç.
"machão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "maço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "machão" for "maço" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "machão" or "maço" show up more?
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 "machão" 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 #6,107 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "machão" and "maço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "machão vs malho". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #6,107 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.