Which to use
“mãos” and “mayo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #761
- “mãos” frequency rank
- #30,251
- “mayo” frequency rank
- 31012
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mãos | mayo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural de mão | maio |
Where the eye mixes mãos and mayo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between mãos and mayo
A purely visual mix-up. mãos (/ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/) and mayo (/ˈma.ʝo/) 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 31012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mãos is recorded at frequency rank #761, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɐ̃w̃ʃ/. mayo is at rank #30,251, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.ʝo/.
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 31012, this pair ranks #37,212 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of mãos vs mayo
Shared letters: mo. Private to "mãos": sã. Private to "mayo": ay.
"mãos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "mayo" · 4 letters · shape CVVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- mayo ← amyo · maoy · mayyo · mmayo · myao
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mãos" and "mayo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mãos" or "mayo" show up more?
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 "mayo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,212 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mãos" and "mayo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mayo". 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 #37,212 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.