Which to use
“marinha” and “matilha” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,156
- “marinha” frequency rank
- #39,257
- “matilha” frequency rank
- 42413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | marinha | matilha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | costa, ribeira, praia, território próximo ao mar e por ele influenciado, litoral | coletivo de cães (cachorros ou perros) |
Where the eye mixes marinha and matilha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. marinha and matilha follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses marinha with matilha
A purely visual mix-up. marinha (/mɐ.ˈɾi.ɲɐ/) and matilha (/mɐ.ˈti.ʎɐ/) 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 42413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
marinha is recorded at frequency rank #3,156, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈɾi.ɲɐ/. matilha is at rank #39,257, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mɐ.ˈti.ʎɐ/.
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 42413, this pair ranks #23,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of marinha vs matilha
Shared letters: ahim. Private to "marinha": nr. Private to "matilha": lt.
"marinha" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "matilha" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "marinha" for "matilha" ever safe?
Which is more common, "marinha" or "matilha"?
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 "marinha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "matilha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "marinha" and "matilha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "malha vs matilha". 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 #23,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.