Which to use
“maia” is an adjective and “mar” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,341
- “maia” frequency rank
- #828
- “mar” frequency rank
- 4169
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maia | mar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | relativo a maia ou aos maias | grande quantidade de água salgada que cobre parte do planeta Terra, podendo estar localizada junto ou dentro de continentes |
Where the eye mixes maia and mar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maia vs mar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: maia is /ˈmaj.ɐ/ while mar is /ˈmaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4169, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maia is recorded at frequency rank #3,341, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaj.ɐ/. mar is at rank #828, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaɾ/.
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 4169, this pair ranks #70,831 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maia vs mar
Shared letters: am. Private to "maia": i. Private to "mar": r.
"maia" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- maia ← amia · maai · miaa · mmaia
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maia" and "mar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "maia" vs "mar" - 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 "maia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,831 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maia" and "mar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs maia". 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 #70,831 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.