Which to use
“mamã” and “mica” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,037
- “mamã” frequency rank
- #32,689
- “mica” frequency rank
- 61726
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mamã | mica |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mãe | mineral do grupo de silicatos monoclínicos |
Where the eye mixes mamã and mica
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mamã and mica follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: mamã vs mica
A purely visual mix-up. mamã (/mɜˈmɜ̃/) and mica (/ˈmi.kɐ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61726, 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/. mica is at rank #32,689, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmi.kɐ/.
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 61726, this pair ranks #6,986 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mamã vs mica
Shared letters: am. Private to "mamã": ã. Private to "mica": ci.
"mamã" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "mica" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mica ← imca · mcia · miac · micca · mmica
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mamã" for "mica" ever safe?
Which is more common, "mamã" or "mica"?
After this comparison
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 "mica" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #6,986 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mamã" and "mica" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mica vs mirra". 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 #6,986 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.