maridovsméritoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,197
“marido” frequency rank
#5,324
“mérito” frequency rank
6521
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature marido mérito
Definition o cônjuge masculino conjunto de características que distinguem algo ou alguém como bom e apreciável:

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
marido
6 ch
mérito

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. marido (/mɐ.ˈɾi.du/) and mérito (/ˈmɛ.ɾi.tu/) 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 6521, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

marido is recorded at frequency rank #1,197, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈɾi.du/. mérito is at rank #5,324, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈmɛ.ɾi.tu/.

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 6521, this pair ranks #67,892 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of marido vs mérito

Shared letters: imor. Private to "marido": ad. Private to "mérito": .

"marido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "mérito" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • maridoamrido · mairdo · mardio · mariddo · mariod · marrido · mmarido · mraido

Frequency comparison

marido#1,197
mérito#5,324

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "marido" and "mérito" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/mɐ.ˈɾi.du/ versus /ˈmɛ.ɾi.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "marido" or "mérito"?
"marido" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,197 in our Portuguese list, against #5,324 for "mérito". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering marido vs mérito

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 “marido” 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