Which to use
“Maria” and “marsh” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #619
- “Maria” frequency rank
- #25,040
- “marsh” frequency rank
- 25659
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Maria | marsh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | prenome feminino muito comum | brejo |
Where the eye mixes Maria and marsh
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Maria with marsh
A purely visual mix-up. Maria (/ma.ˈɾi.ɐ/) and marsh (/mɑɹʃ/) 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 25659, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Maria is recorded at frequency rank #619, classified as anoun, pronounced /ma.ˈɾi.ɐ/. marsh is at rank #25,040, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɑɹʃ/.
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 25659, this pair ranks #43,628 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Maria vs marsh
Shared letters: amr. Private to "Maria": i. Private to "marsh": hs.
"Maria" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "marsh" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Maria" for "marsh" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "Maria" or "marsh" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Maria" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "marsh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,628 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Maria" and "marsh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "marsh vs mesh". 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 #43,628 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.