Which to use
“malaio” and “maldito” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,421
- “malaio” frequency rank
- #10,392
- “maldito” frequency rank
- 39813
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | malaio | maldito |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | da Malásia | sinistro |
Where the eye mixes malaio and maldito
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: malaio vs maldito
A purely visual mix-up. malaio (/ma.ˈlaj.ju/) and maldito (/maɫ.ˈdi.tu/) 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 39813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
malaio is recorded at frequency rank #29,421, classified as anadj, pronounced /ma.ˈlaj.ju/. maldito is at rank #10,392, tagged as anadj, pronounced /maɫ.ˈdi.tu/.
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 39813, this pair ranks #26,386 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of malaio vs maldito
Shared letters: ailmo. Private to "malaio": -. Private to "maldito": dt.
"malaio" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "maldito" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "malaio" for "maldito" ever safe?
Which is more common, "malaio" or "maldito"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "malaio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "maldito" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,386 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "malaio" and "maldito" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malaio vs melado". 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 #26,386 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.