Which to use
“maço” and “mamã” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,742
- “maço” frequency rank
- #29,037
- “mamã” frequency rank
- 54779
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maço | mamã |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instrumento de madeira encabado para uso de carpinteiros, escultores, etc. | mãe |
Where the eye mixes maço and mamã
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. maço and mamã follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: maço vs mamã
A purely visual mix-up. maço (/ˈma.su/) and mamã (/mɜˈmɜ̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54779, 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/. mamã is at rank #29,037, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɜˈmɜ̃/.
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 54779, this pair ranks #11,045 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of maço vs mamã
Shared letters: am. Private to "maço": oç. Private to "mamã": ã.
"maço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mamã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maço" and "mamã" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "maço" or "mamã" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "maço" and "mamã" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "maço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mamã" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,045 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maço" and "mamã" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mamã". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #11,045 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.