Which to use
“maio” and “Marion” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #523
- “maio” frequency rank
- #14,183
- “Marion” frequency rank
- 14706
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maio | Marion |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | quinto mês do ano civil, formado por 31 dias | prenome feminino |
Where the eye mixes maio and Marion
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. maio runs 4 letters (CVVV) against Marion's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses maio with Marion
A purely visual mix-up. maio (/ˈmaj.ju/) and Marion (/ma.ɾiˈɔ̃/ [ma.ɾɪˈɔ̃], AFI: /maˈɾjɔ̃/ (coloquial)) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maio is recorded at frequency rank #523, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaj.ju/. Marion is at rank #14,183, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ma.ɾiˈɔ̃/ [ma.ɾɪˈɔ̃], AFI: /maˈɾjɔ̃/ (coloquial).
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 14706, this pair ranks #57,296 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maio vs Marion
Shared letters: aimo. Private to "maio": -. Private to "Marion": nr.
"maio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "Marion" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "maio" for "Marion" ever safe?
Frequency check: "maio" vs "Marion" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "maio" and "Marion" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "maio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Marion" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,296 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maio" and "Marion" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Marion vs marzo". 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 #57,296 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.