Which to use
“mamã” and “mar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,037
- “mamã” frequency rank
- #828
- “mar” frequency rank
- 29865
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mamã | mar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mãe | grande quantidade de água salgada que cobre parte do planeta Terra, podendo estar localizada junto ou dentro de continentes |
Where the eye mixes mamã and mar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mamã runs 4 letters (CVCV) against mar's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between mamã and mar
A purely visual mix-up. mamã (/mɜˈmɜ̃/) 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 29865, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mamã is recorded at frequency rank #29,037, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɜˈmɜ̃/. 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 29865, this pair ranks #38,677 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mamã vs mar
Shared letters: am. Private to "mamã": ã. Private to "mar": r.
"mamã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mamã" and "mar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mamã" or "mar" show up more?
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 "mamã" 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 #38,677 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mamã" and "mar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mamã". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #38,677 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.