Which to use
“máfia” and “mania” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,687
- “máfia” frequency rank
- #10,393
- “mania” frequency rank
- 22080
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | máfia | mania |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | organização criminosa de origem italiana | espécie de loucura com tendências para a excitação |
Where the eye mixes máfia and mania
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. máfia and mania follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between máfia and mania
A purely visual mix-up. máfia (/ˈma.fjɐ/) and mania (/mɐ.ˈni.ɐ/) 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 22080, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
máfia is recorded at frequency rank #11,687, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.fjɐ/. mania is at rank #10,393, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈni.ɐ/.
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 22080, this pair ranks #48,044 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of máfia vs mania
Shared letters: aim. Private to "máfia": fá. Private to "mania": n.
"máfia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "mania" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mania ← amnia · maina · manai · mannia · mmania · mnaia
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "máfia" and "mania" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "máfia" vs "mania" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "máfia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mania" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,044 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "máfia" and "mania" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs máfia". 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 #48,044 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.