Which to use
“mãe” and “mater” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #170
- “mãe” frequency rank
- #31,868
- “mater” frequency rank
- 32038
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mãe | mater |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mulher que tem ou teve filhos, naturais ou adotivos | maternidade, estabelecimento público ou privado destinado a receber mulheres que estão a ponto de dar a luz |
Where the eye mixes mãe and mater
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: mãe vs mater
A purely visual mix-up. mãe (/ˈmɐ̃j̃/) and mater (/ma.tɛʁ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32038, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mãe is recorded at frequency rank #170, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃j̃/. mater is at rank #31,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ma.tɛʁ/.
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 32038, this pair ranks #35,877 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mãe vs mater
Shared letters: em. Private to "mãe": ã. Private to "mater": art.
"mãe" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "mater" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mater ← amter · maetr · materr · mmater · mtaer
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mãe" for "mater" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mãe" or "mater"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mãe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mater" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,877 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mãe" and "mater" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mater 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 #35,877 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.