Which to use
“macio” and “malo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,891
- “macio” frequency rank
- #41,118
- “malo” frequency rank
- 56009
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | macio | malo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que é suave aos sentidos. aveludado | mau, malévolo: |
Letter map: macio vs malo
Shared letters muted; letters that set macio and malo apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. macio runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against malo's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Pair insight - macio / malo
macio and malo 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
macio is recorded at frequency rank #14,891, classified as anadj, pronounced /mɐ.ˈsi.u/. malo is at rank #41,118, tagged as anadj.
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 56009, this pair ranks #10,239 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of macio vs malo
Shared letters: amo. Private to "macio": ci. Private to "malo": l.
"macio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "malo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "macio" and "malo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "macio" or "malo"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "macio" and "malo".
- Full dictionary entry for "macio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,239 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "macio" and "malo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs malo". 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 #10,239 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.