Which to use
“maço” and “maré” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,742
- “maço” frequency rank
- #7,659
- “maré” frequency rank
- 33401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maço | maré |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instrumento de madeira encabado para uso de carpinteiros, escultores, etc. | movimento periódico de subida e descida das águas do mar |
Where the eye mixes maço and maré
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. maço and maré follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses maço with maré
A purely visual mix-up. maço (/ˈma.su/) and maré (/mɐ.ˈɾɛ/) 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 33401, 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/. maré is at rank #7,659, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈɾɛ/.
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 33401, this pair ranks #34,137 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of maço vs maré
Shared letters: am. Private to "maço": oç. Private to "maré": ré.
"maço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "maré" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maço" and "maré" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "maço" vs "maré" - which ranks higher?
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 "maço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maré" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,137 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maço" and "maré" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs maço". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #34,137 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.