Which to use
“malva” is an adjective and “multa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #44,474
- “malva” frequency rank
- #4,498
- “multa” frequency rank
- 48972
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | malva | multa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | violeta | ato ou efeito de multar |
Where the eye mixes malva and multa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: malva vs multa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: malva is /ˈmaɫ.vɐ/ while multa is /ˈmuɫ.tɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48972, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
malva is recorded at frequency rank #44,474, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈmaɫ.vɐ/. multa is at rank #4,498, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmuɫ.tɐ/.
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 48972, this pair ranks #16,131 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of malva vs multa
Shared letters: alm. Private to "malva": v. Private to "multa": tu.
"malva" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "multa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "malva" for "multa" ever safe?
Which is more common, "malva" or "multa"?
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 "malva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "multa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,131 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "malva" and "multa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs malva". 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 #16,131 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.