mamãovsmimarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mamão is a adjective, mimar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#23,399
“mamão” frequency rank
#37,916
“mimar” frequency rank
61315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mamão mimar
Definition que mama muito dar mimo a; tratar com mimo

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
mamão
5 ch
mimar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mamão is anadjective and mimaraverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mamão is recorded at frequency rank #23,399, classified as anadj. mimar is at rank #37,916, tagged as averb, pronounced /mi.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 61315, this pair ranks #7,191 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mamão vs mimar

Shared letters: am. Private to "mamão": . Private to "mimar": ir.

"mamão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "mimar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • mimarimmar · miamr · mimarr · mimmar · mimra · mmiar · mmimar

Frequency comparison

mamão#23,399
mimar#37,916

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mamão" and "mimar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mamão" is an adjective and "mimar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mamão" or "mimar"?
"mamão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,399 in our Portuguese list, against #37,916 for "mimar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mamão vs mimar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “mamão”; for a verb, it's “mimar”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list