Which to use
“Mai” is a noun and “may” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,369
- “Mai” frequency rank
- #5,226
- “may” frequency rank
- 14595
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Mai | may |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | maio | obter permissão. Também utilizado quando se deseja fazer um pedido, de maneira cortês. |
Where the eye mixes Mai and may
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Mai with may
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Mai is /maɪ̯/ while may is /meɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - i in “Mai” becomes y in “may”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Mai is recorded at frequency rank #9,369, classified as anoun, pronounced /maɪ̯/. may is at rank #5,226, tagged as averb, pronounced /meɪ/.
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 14595, this pair ranks #57,442 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Mai vs may
Shared letters: am. Private to "Mai": i. Private to "may": y.
"Mai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "may" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Mai" and "may" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "Mai" or "may" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Mai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "may" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,442 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Mai" and "may" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs Mai". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #57,442 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.