Which to use
“máfia” and “marca” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,687
- “máfia” frequency rank
- #1,013
- “marca” frequency rank
- 12700
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | máfia | marca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | organização criminosa de origem italiana | ato ou efeito de marcar |
Where the eye mixes máfia and marca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between máfia and marca
A purely visual mix-up. máfia (/ˈma.fjɐ/) and marca (/ˈmaɾ.kɐ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12700, 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/. marca is at rank #1,013, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaɾ.kɐ/.
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 12700, this pair ranks #59,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of máfia vs marca
Shared letters: am. Private to "máfia": fiá. Private to "marca": cr.
"máfia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "marca" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- marca ← amrca · macra · marac · marcca · marrca · mmarca · mraca
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "máfia" for "marca" ever safe?
Frequency check: "máfia" vs "marca" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "máfia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "marca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "máfia" and "marca" 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 #59,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.