maravsmicaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,718
“mara” frequency rank
#32,689
“mica” frequency rank
42407
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mara mica
Definition roedor que habita as estepes da Patagônia, na Argentina (Dolichotis patagonum) mineral do grupo de silicatos monoclínicos

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
mara
4 ch
mica

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mara (/ˈma.ɾɐ/) and mica (/ˈmi.kɐ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42407, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mara is recorded at frequency rank #9,718, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈma.ɾɐ/. mica is at rank #32,689, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmi.kɐ/.

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 42407, this pair ranks #23,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of mara vs mica

Shared letters: am. Private to "mara": r. Private to "mica": ci.

"mara" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mica" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maramarra · mmara · mraa
  • micaimca · mcia · miac · micca · mmica

Frequency comparison

mara#9,718
mica#32,689

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mara" and "mica" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈma.ɾɐ/ versus /ˈmi.kɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mara" or "mica"?
"mara" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,718 in our Portuguese list, against #32,689 for "mica". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mara vs mica

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list