maçovsmandoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: maço is a noun, mando is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“maço” is a noun and “mando” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,742
“maço” frequency rank
#5,551
“mando” frequency rank
31293
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature maço mando
Definition instrumento de madeira encabado para uso de carpinteiros, escultores, etc. primeira pessoa do singular do presente indicativo do verbo mandar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maço and mando apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
maço
5 ch
mando

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maço is /ˈma.su/ while mando is /ˈmɐ̃.du/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31293, 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/. mando is at rank #5,551, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃.du/.

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 31293, this pair ranks #36,844 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of maço vs mando

Shared letters: amo. Private to "maço": ç. Private to "mando": dn.

"maço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mando" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mandoamndo · madno · manddo · manndo · manod · mmando · mnado

Frequency comparison

maço#25,742
mando#5,551

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "maço" and "mando" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "maço" is a noun and "mando" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "maço" or "mando"?
"mando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,551 in our Portuguese list, against #25,742 for "maço". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering maço vs mando

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “maço”; for a verb, it's “mando”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maço” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list