Which to use
“manter” and “matar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #650
- “manter” frequency rank
- #1,053
- “matar” frequency rank
- 1703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | manter | matar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sustentar | causar morte, tirar a vida |
Where the eye mixes manter and matar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses manter with matar
A purely visual mix-up. manter (/mɐ̃.ˈteɾ/) and matar (/mɐ.ˈtaɾ/) 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 1703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
manter is recorded at frequency rank #650, classified as averb, pronounced /mɐ̃.ˈteɾ/. matar is at rank #1,053, tagged as averb, pronounced /mɐ.ˈtaɾ/.
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 1703, this pair ranks #73,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of manter vs matar
Shared letters: amrt. Private to "manter": en. Private to "matar": -.
"manter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "matar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "manter" and "matar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "manter" vs "matar" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "manter" and "matar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "manter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "manter" and "matar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs matar". 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 #73,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.