Which to use
“Maori” is a noun and “matei” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,001
- “Maori” frequency rank
- #9,532
- “matei” frequency rank
- 46533
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maori | matei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | um dos povos indígenas da Nova Zelândia | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do modo indicativo do verbo matar |
Where the eye mixes Maori and matei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Maori (CVVCV) and matei (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses Maori with matei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Maori is /maˈoːri/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while matei is /ma.ˈteɪ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46533, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maori is recorded at frequency rank #37,001, classified as anoun, pronounced /maˈoːri/ ouvir^(fonte ?). 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 46533, this pair ranks #18,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of Maori vs matei
Shared letters: aim. Private to "Maori": or. Private to "matei": et.
"Maori" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "matei" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Maori" for "matei" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "Maori" or "matei" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "Maori" 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 #18,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maori" and "matei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Maori vs moi". 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 #18,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.