mamão vs mara, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“mamão” is an adjective and “mara” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,399
“mamão” frequency rank: #9,718
“mara” frequency rank: 33117
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mamão	mara
Definition	que mama muito	roedor que habita as estepes da Patagônia, na Argentina (Dolichotis patagonum)

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

mamão

4 ch

mara

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mamão is anadjective and maraanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mamão is recorded at frequency rank #23,399, classified as anadj. mara is at rank #9,718, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.ɾɐ/.

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 33117, this pair ranks #34,491 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mamão vs mara

Shared letters: am. Private to "mamão": oã. Private to "mara": r.

"mamão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "mara" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

mara ← marra · mmara · mraa

Frequency comparison

mamão#23,399

mara#9,718

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mamão" and "mara" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mamão" is an adjective and "mara" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "mamão" or "mara"?

"mara" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,718 in our Portuguese list, against #23,399 for "mamão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mamão vs mara

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “mamão”; for a noun, it's “mara”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mamão” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable