mantervsmatterWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: manter is a verb, matter is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“manter” is a verb and “matter” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#650
“manter” frequency rank
#22,387
“matter” frequency rank
23037
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature manter matter
Definition sustentar matéria

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set manter and matter apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
manter
6 ch
matter

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: manter is /mɐ̃.ˈteɾ/ while matter is /ˈmætɚ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “manter” becomes t in “matter”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23037, 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/. matter is at rank #22,387, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmætɚ/.

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 23037, this pair ranks #46,861 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of manter vs matter

Shared letters: aemrt. Private to "manter": n. Private to "matter": -.

"manter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "matter" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • manteramnter · manetr · mannter · manterr · mantre · mantter · matner · mmanter
  • matteramtter · matetr · matterr · mattre · mmatter · mtater

Frequency comparison

manter#650
matter#22,387

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "manter" and "matter" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "manter" is a verb and "matter" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "manter" or "matter"?
"manter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #650 in our Portuguese list, against #22,387 for "matter". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering manter vs matter

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “manter”; for a noun, it's “matter”.
  • 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