mamã vs mask, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“mamã” and “mask” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#29,037
“mamã” frequency rank: #36,537
“mask” frequency rank: 65574
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mamã	mask
Definition	mãe	máscara

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mamã and mask apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

mamã

4 ch

mask

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mamã (/mɜˈmɜ̃/) and mask (/mæsk/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65574, 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/. mask is at rank #36,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæsk/.

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 65574, this pair ranks #5,316 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mamã vs mask

Shared letters: am. Private to "mamã": ã. Private to "mask": ks.

"mamã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mask" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

mask ← amsk · maks · maskk · massk · mmask · msak

Frequency comparison

mamã#29,037

mask#36,537

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mamã" and "mask" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/mɜˈmɜ̃/ versus /mæsk/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "mamã" or "mask"?

"mamã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,037 in our Portuguese list, against #36,537 for "mask". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mamã vs mask

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mamã” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable