Which to use
“manter” and “matei” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #650
- “manter” frequency rank
- #9,532
- “matei” frequency rank
- 10182
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | manter | matei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sustentar | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do modo indicativo do verbo matar |
Where the eye mixes manter and matei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. manter runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against matei's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses manter with matei
A purely visual mix-up. manter (/mɐ̃.ˈteɾ/) and matei (/ma.ˈteɪ/) 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 10182, 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/. matei is at rank #9,532, tagged as averb, pronounced /ma.ˈteɪ/.
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 10182, this pair ranks #63,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of manter vs matei
Shared letters: aemt. Private to "manter": nr. Private to "matei": i.
"manter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "matei" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "manter" for "matei" ever safe?
Frequency check: "manter" vs "matei" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "manter" and "matei" 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 "matei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "manter" and "matei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "matei vs matiz". 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 #63,005 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.