Which to use
“mal” is an adverb and “math” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #319
- “mal” frequency rank
- #31,869
- “math” frequency rank
- 32188
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mal | math |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | de forma pouco satisfatória | bom |
Letter map: mal vs math
Shared letters muted; letters that set mal and math apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.
Role in the sentence - mal and math
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mal is anadverb and mathanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mal is recorded at frequency rank #319, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈmaw/. math is at rank #31,869, tagged as anadj.
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 32188, this pair ranks #35,704 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mal vs math
Shared letters: am. Private to "mal": l. Private to "math": ht.
"mal" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "math" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- math ← amth · maht · mathh · matth · mmath · mtah
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "mal" and "math" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mal" or "math" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "mal" and "math".
- Full dictionary entry for "mal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "math" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,704 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mal" and "math" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs math". 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 #35,704 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.