mãos vs mas, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“mãos” is a noun and “mas” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#761
“mãos” frequency rank: #25
“mas” frequency rank: 786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	mãos	mas
Definition	plural de mão	conjunção adversativa, indica clara oposição entre ideias

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mãos and mas apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

mãos

3 ch

mas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mãos is /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/ while mas is /ˈmɐʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs conjunction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mãos is recorded at frequency rank #761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/. mas is at rank #25, tagged as aconj, pronounced /ˈmɐʃ/.

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 786, this pair ranks #74,870 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of mãos vs mas

Shared letters: ms. Private to "mãos": oã. Private to "mas": a.

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

Frequency comparison

mãos#761

mas#25

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

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

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mãos" is a noun and "mas" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

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

"mas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25 in our Portuguese list, against #761 for "mãos". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering mãos vs mas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mãos”; for a conjunction, it's “mas”.
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