mantervsmatemWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“manter” and “matem” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#650
“manter” frequency rank
#18,638
“matem” frequency rank
19288
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature manter matem
Definition sustentar terceira pessoa do plural do presente do modo subjuntivo do verbo matar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set manter and matem apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
manter
5 ch
matem

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. manter (/mɐ̃.ˈteɾ/) and matem (/ˈma.tẽɲ/) 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 19288, 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/. matem is at rank #18,638, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈma.tẽɲ/.

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 19288, this pair ranks #51,474 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of manter vs matem

Shared letters: aemt. Private to "manter": nr. Private to "matem": -.

"manter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "matem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • manteramnter · manetr · mannter · manterr · mantre · mantter · matner · mmanter
  • matemamtem · maetm · matemm · matme · mattem · mmatem · mtaem

Frequency comparison

manter#650
matem#18,638

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "manter" and "matem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/mɐ̃.ˈteɾ/ versus /ˈma.tẽɲ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "manter" or "matem"?
"manter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #650 in our Portuguese list, against #18,638 for "matem". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering manter vs matem

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “manter” 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