marcarvsmáscaraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: marcar is a verb, máscara is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“marcar” is a verb and “máscara” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,842
“marcar” frequency rank
#4,254
“máscara” frequency rank
7096
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature marcar máscara
Definition pôr uma marca ou sinal uma cobertura para todo ou parte do rosto, usada para esconder a identidade de seu portador

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set marcar and máscara apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
marcar
7 ch
máscara

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: marcar is /mɐɾ.ˈkaɾ/ while máscara is /ˈmaʃ.kɐ.ɾɐ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7096, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

marcar is recorded at frequency rank #2,842, classified as averb, pronounced /mɐɾ.ˈkaɾ/. máscara is at rank #4,254, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmaʃ.kɐ.ɾɐ/.

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 7096, this pair ranks #67,141 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of marcar vs máscara

Shared letters: acmr. Private to "marcar": -. Private to "máscara": .

"marcar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "máscara" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • marcaramrcar · macrar · maracr · marcarr · marccar · marcra · marrcar · mmarcar

Frequency comparison

marcar#2,842
máscara#4,254

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "marcar" and "máscara" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "marcar" is a verb and "máscara" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "marcar" or "máscara"?
"marcar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,842 in our Portuguese list, against #4,254 for "máscara". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering marcar vs máscara

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “marcar”; for a noun, it's “máscara”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “marcar” 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