Which to use
“mala” and “mar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,568
- “mala” frequency rank
- #828
- “mar” frequency rank
- 5396
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mala | mar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bolsa (geralmente de couro ou pano e com cadeado) usada para carregar dinheiro, documentos e outros objetos | grande quantidade de água salgada que cobre parte do planeta Terra, podendo estar localizada junto ou dentro de continentes |
Where the eye mixes mala and mar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mala with mar
A purely visual mix-up. mala (/ˈma.lɐ/) and mar (/ˈmaɾ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5396, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mala is recorded at frequency rank #4,568, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.lɐ/. mar is at rank #828, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaɾ/.
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 5396, this pair ranks #69,221 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mala vs mar
Shared letters: am. Private to "mala": l. Private to "mar": r.
"mala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- mala ← maal · malla · mlaa · mmala
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mala" for "mar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mala" or "mar"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mala" and "mar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,221 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mala" and "mar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mala". 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 #69,221 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.