mãevsmaskWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“mãe” and “mask” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#170
“mãe” frequency rank
#36,537
“mask” frequency rank
36707
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mãe mask
Definition mulher que tem ou teve filhos, naturais ou adotivos máscara

Where the eye mixes mãe and mask

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
mãe
4 ch
mask

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mãe (/ˈmɐ̃j̃/) and mask (/mæsk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36707, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mãe is recorded at frequency rank #170, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃j̃/. mask is at rank #36,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæsk/.

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 36707, this pair ranks #30,040 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mãe vs mask

Shared letters: m. Private to "mãe": . Private to "mask": aks.

"mãe" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "mask" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maskamsk · maks · maskk · massk · mmask · msak

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mãe" and "mask" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈmɐ̃j̃/ versus /mæsk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mãe" or "mask"?
"mãe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #170 in our Portuguese list, against #36,537 for "mask". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list