mãos vs mar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#761
“mãos” frequency rank: #828
“mar” frequency rank: 1589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mãos	mar
Definition	plural de mão	grande quantidade de água salgada que cobre parte do planeta Terra, podendo estar localizada junto ou dentro de continentes

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mãos and mar apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

mãos

3 ch

mar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mãos (/ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/) and mar (/ˈmaɾ/) 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 1589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mãos is recorded at frequency rank #761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/. mar is at rank #828, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaɾ/.

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 1589, this pair ranks #73,952 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mãos vs mar

Shared letters: m. Private to "mãos": osã. Private to "mar": ar.

"mãos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mar" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

mãos#761

mar#828

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mãos" and "mar" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/ versus /ˈmaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "mãos" or "mar"?

"mãos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #761 in our Portuguese list, against #828 for "mar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mãos vs mar

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 “mãos” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable