maravsmirraWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,718
“mara” frequency rank
#49,042
“mirra” frequency rank
58760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mara mirra
Definition roedor que habita as estepes da Patagônia, na Argentina (Dolichotis patagonum) árvore da África e Oriente Médio

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mara and mirra apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
mara
5 ch
mirra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. mara (/ˈma.ɾɐ/) and mirra (/ˈmi.Rɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58760, 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/. mirra is at rank #49,042, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmi.Rɐ/.

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 58760, this pair ranks #8,558 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mara vs mirra

Shared letters: amr. Private to "mara": -. Private to "mirra": i.

"mara" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "mirra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maramarra · mmara · mraa
  • mirraimrra · mmirra · mrira

Frequency comparison

mara#9,718
mirra#49,042

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mara" and "mirra" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈma.ɾɐ/ versus /ˈmi.Rɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "mara" or "mirra"?
"mara" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,718 in our Portuguese list, against #49,042 for "mirra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mara vs mirra

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list