Which to use
“mãos” is a noun and “may” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #761
- “mãos” frequency rank
- #5,226
- “may” frequency rank
- 5987
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mãos | may |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural de mão | obter permissão. Também utilizado quando se deseja fazer um pedido, de maneira cortês. |
Where the eye mixes mãos and may
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. mãos runs 4 letters (CVVC) against may's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: mãos vs may
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: mãos is /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/ while may is /meɪ/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5987, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mãos is recorded at frequency rank #761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/. may is at rank #5,226, tagged as averb, pronounced /meɪ/.
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 5987, this pair ranks #68,555 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of mãos vs may
Shared letters: m. Private to "mãos": osã. Private to "may": ay.
"mãos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "may" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "mãos" for "may" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mãos" or "may" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "mãos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "may" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,555 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mãos" and "may" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs may". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #68,555 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.