Which to use
“maior” is an adjective and “mais” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #140
- “maior” frequency rank
- #23
- “mais” frequency rank
- 163
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | maior | mais |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | qualidade relativa ao que tem mais altura, volume, massa, idade, duração, intensidade, dimensão, extensão, calibre que outra coisa ou pessoa | avançadamente (designa aumento) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set maior and mais apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
maior and mais form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
maior is recorded at frequency rank #140, classified as anadj, pronounced /mɐj.ˈɔɾ/. mais is at rank #23, tagged as anadv, pronounced /mäjʃ/.
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 163, this pair ranks #75,482 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "maior" and "mais" be used interchangeably?
Remembering maior vs mais
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “maior”; for an adverb, it's “mais”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “maior” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable