Which to use
“maço” is a noun and “maior” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,742
- “maço” frequency rank
- #140
- “maior” frequency rank
- 25882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maço | maior |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instrumento de madeira encabado para uso de carpinteiros, escultores, etc. | qualidade relativa ao que tem mais altura, volume, massa, idade, duração, intensidade, dimensão, extensão, calibre que outra coisa ou pessoa |
Where the eye mixes maço and maior
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maço vs maior
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maço is /ˈma.su/ while maior is /mɐj.ˈɔɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maço is recorded at frequency rank #25,742, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.su/. maior is at rank #140, tagged as anadj, pronounced /mɐj.ˈɔɾ/.
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 25882, this pair ranks #43,359 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maço vs maior
Shared letters: amo. Private to "maço": ç. Private to "maior": ir.
"maço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "maior" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maior ← amior · maiorr · mairo · maoir · miaor · mmaior
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maço" for "maior" ever safe?
Which is more common, "maço" or "maior"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "maço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maior" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,359 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maço" and "maior" 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 #43,359 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.