Which to use
“mars” and “mask” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,305
- “mars” frequency rank
- #36,537
- “mask” frequency rank
- 47842
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | mars | mask |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | março | máscara |
Where the eye mixes mars and mask
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses mars with mask
A purely visual mix-up. mars (/maʁs/) and mask (/mæsk/) 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 47842, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
mars is recorded at frequency rank #11,305, classified as anoun, pronounced /maʁs/. mask is at rank #36,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced /mæsk/.
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 47842, this pair ranks #17,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of mars vs mask
Shared letters: ams. Private to "mars": r. Private to "mask": k.
"mars" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "mask" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "mars" and "mask" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "mars" or "mask" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "mars" and "mask" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "mars" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "mask" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "mars" and "mask" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "maa vs mask". 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 #17,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.