máfiavsMatiasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,687
“máfia” frequency rank
#15,855
“Matias” frequency rank
27542
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature máfia Matias
Definition organização criminosa de origem italiana Matias.

Where the eye mixes máfia and Matias

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
máfia
6 ch
Matias

Visual trap between máfia and Matias

A purely visual mix-up. máfia (/ˈma.fjɐ/) and Matias (/ˈmɑtiɑs/.) 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 27542, 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/. Matias is at rank #15,855, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɑtiɑs/..

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 27542, this pair ranks #41,408 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of máfia vs Matias

Shared letters: aim. Private to "máfia": . Private to "Matias": st.

"máfia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "Matias" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Matiasamtias · maitas · matais · matiass · matisa · mattias · mmatias · mtaias

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "máfia" for "Matias" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈma.fjɐ/ versus /ˈmɑtiɑs/.) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "máfia" vs "Matias" - which ranks higher?
"máfia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,687 in our Portuguese list, against #15,855 for "Matias". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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 "Matias" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #41,408 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "máfia" and "Matias" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Matias 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 #41,408 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list