Which to use
“mãos” and “mato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #761
- “mãos” frequency rank
- #1,821
- “mato” frequency rank
- 2582
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mãos | mato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural de mão | área não cultivada e coberta de plantas agrestes |
Where the eye mixes mãos and mato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. mãos (CVVC) and mato (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses mãos with mato
A purely visual mix-up. mãos (/ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/) and mato (/ˈma.tʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mãos is recorded at frequency rank #761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/. mato is at rank #1,821, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.tʊ/.
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 2582, this pair ranks #72,760 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mãos vs mato
Shared letters: mo. Private to "mãos": sã. Private to "mato": at.
"mãos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mato ← amto · maot · matto · mmato · mtao
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mãos" and "mato" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "mãos" or "mato"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "mãos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,760 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mãos" and "mato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mato". 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 #72,760 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.