Which to use
“malo” is an adjective and “matou” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #41,118
- “malo” frequency rank
- #2,691
- “matou” frequency rank
- 43809
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | malo | matou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mau, malévolo: | terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo matar |
Letter map: malo vs matou
Shared letters muted; letters that set malo and matou apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Grammar separator: malo vs matou
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: malo is anadjective and matouaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43809, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
malo is recorded at frequency rank #41,118, classified as anadj. matou is at rank #2,691, tagged as averb, pronounced /ma.ˈtoʊ/.
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 43809, this pair ranks #21,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of malo vs matou
Shared letters: amo. Private to "malo": l. Private to "matou": tu.
"malo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "matou" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "malo" and "matou" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "malo" or "matou" show up more?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "malo" and "matou".
- Full dictionary entry for "malo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "malo" and "matou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs malo". 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 #21,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.