Which to use
“mãe” is a noun and “matem” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #170
- “mãe” frequency rank
- #18,638
- “matem” frequency rank
- 18808
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mãe | matem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mulher que tem ou teve filhos, naturais ou adotivos | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do modo subjuntivo do verbo matar |
Where the eye mixes mãe and matem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mãe vs matem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mãe is /ˈmɐ̃j̃/ while matem is /ˈma.tẽɲ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 18808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mãe is recorded at frequency rank #170, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃j̃/. matem is at rank #18,638, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈma.tẽɲ/.
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 18808, this pair ranks #52,092 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mãe vs matem
Shared letters: em. Private to "mãe": ã. Private to "matem": at.
"mãe" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "matem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- matem ← amtem · maetm · matemm · matme · mattem · mmatem · mtaem
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mãe" and "matem" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mãe" or "matem" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "mãe" and "matem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mãe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,092 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mãe" and "matem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "matem vs matiz". 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 #52,092 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.