Which to use
“maio” and “mars” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #523
- “maio” frequency rank
- #11,305
- “mars” frequency rank
- 11828
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maio | mars |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | quinto mês do ano civil, formado por 31 dias | março |
Where the eye mixes maio and mars
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: maio vs mars
A purely visual mix-up. maio (/ˈmaj.ju/) and mars (/maʁs/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11828, 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/. mars is at rank #11,305, tagged as anoun, pronounced /maʁs/.
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 11828, this pair ranks #60,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of maio vs mars
Shared letters: am. Private to "maio": io. Private to "mars": rs.
"maio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "mars" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maio" and "mars" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "maio" or "mars"?
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 "maio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mars" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "maio" and "mars" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mars". 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 #60,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.