malaiovsmalhoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: malaio is a adjective, malho is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“malaio” is an adjective and “malho” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#29,421
“malaio” frequency rank
#44,473
“malho” frequency rank
73894
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature malaio malho
Definition da Malásia ferramenta com cabo de madeira e na extremidade uma peça de metal com uma superfície lisa, usada para bater pregos; martelo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set malaio and malho apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
malaio
5 ch
malho

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: malaio is anadjective and malhoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73894, 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/. 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 73894, this pair ranks #2,658 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of malaio vs malho

Shared letters: almo. Private to "malaio": i. Private to "malho": h.

"malaio" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV  ·  "malho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • malaioamlaio · maalio · malaoi · maliao · mallaio · mlaaio · mmalaio
  • malhoamlho · mahlo · malhho · mallho · maloh · mlaho · mmalho

Frequency comparison

malaio#29,421
malho#44,473

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "malaio" and "malho" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "malaio" is an adjective and "malho" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "malaio" or "malho"?
"malaio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,421 in our Portuguese list, against #44,473 for "malho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering malaio vs malho

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “malaio”; for a noun, it's “malho”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “malaio” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list