Which to use
“mal” is an adverb and “malho” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #319
- “mal” frequency rank
- #44,473
- “malho” frequency rank
- 44792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mal | malho |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | de forma pouco satisfatória | ferramenta com cabo de madeira e na extremidade uma peça de metal com uma superfície lisa, usada para bater pregos; martelo |
Letter map: mal vs malho
Shared letters muted; letters that set mal and malho apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mal is anadverb and malhoanoun. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “mal” sits inside “malho”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mal is recorded at frequency rank #319, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈmaw/. malho is at rank #44,473, tagged as anoun.
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 44792, this pair ranks #20,640 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mal vs malho
Shared letters: alm. Private to "mal": -. Private to "malho": ho.
"mal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "malho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- malho ← amlho · mahlo · malhho · mallho · maloh · mlaho · mmalho
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mal" and "malho" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "mal" or "malho"?
What to do next
You've compared "mal" and "malho". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "mal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "malho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,640 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mal" and "malho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malho vs malva". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.